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Motor Vehicle Accidents 
A North Ridge Health and Rehabilitation nurse mistakenly administered 600 mg of oxycodone to a resident, instead of 30mg which is was the maximum dosage prescribed by the resident’s physician.
The resident, Gary A. Schmidt, was 53 years-old and only a short-term rehabilitation resident. He died on April 2, 2017 and was found unconscious on the floor at the nursing home.
In 2015, a widespread outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in an Illinois veterans’ home killed 13 residents and caused severe illness for 61 other residents. Eleven families are suing the state of Illinois for negligence because they say the spread of the disease was preventable.
More than 25 percent of cases involving nursing home abuse and neglect in the U.S. are not reported to proper authorities despite federal and state laws and regulations requiring them to do so. Federally funded nursing homes must report abuse and neglect incidents immediately; many facilities fail to make reports to the appropriate agencies.
Prolonged periods of immobility can lead to death for elderly nursing home residents. Many residents have health conditions that prevent even the most basic activities.
Throughout the U.S., nursing home residents are suffering injuries and illnesses caused by medical care they receive from their nursing home facilities. In Illinois, nursing home residents who suffer harm due to unsafe conditions and improper medical care have a right to file a lawsuit with a nursing home abuse lawyer for damages.
By hiring inexperienced, under-trained staff, nursing homes reduce general overhead costs. Although lower operational costs increase business profits, under-trained staff members contribute to higher health risks for nursing home residents.
AARP reports that overprescription of antipsychotics in America’s nursing homes is a national problem. Toby Edelman is an attorney for the Center for Medicare Advocacy. Edelman says nursing home personnel are using these powerful drugs with severe side effects as chemical restraints to lower the costs of providing care to residents.
Illinois residents can take steps to prevent their loved ones from suffering from abuse in nursing homes. Nursing home abuse is a pervasive problem. By taking precautionary steps, families can help to prevent their loved ones from being the victims of nursing home abuse and can also recognize the signs of abuse so that they can end it quickly.
Emotional abuse inflicts deep wounds on an elderly person’s psyche that can impact their quality of life and shorten their life expectancy. Because these wounds leave no physical scars, it is difficult to detect that emotional abuse is present. However, there are certain signs and symptoms that family members and friends should be aware of that often stem from abuse.
A recent CNN investigation revealed an alarming number of sexual abuse and assault cases in America’s nursing homes. The American Health Care Association and family members of Illinois victims are taking immediate action to file nursing home abuse cases with a Chicago nursing home abuse attorney.