DuPage County Nursing Home Attorneys For Injury Cases Due to Poor Supervision

Lawyers in Elk Grove Village for Injuries Caused by Nursing Home Understaffing

When a person resides in a nursing home, that person relies on the home's caregivers and staff members to look after the person's needs and to provide a good quality of life. Over the last few years, however, nursing homes around the country have experienced serious staffing shortages, which have directly affected the quality of care that residents in these facilities receive. While some nursing facilities have worked hard to bring staffing levels back up, many others have done very little to rectify the situation. As the American population continues to get older, the issue is likely to get worse before it gets better.

At Kaiser Law in Bensenville, IL, our skilled attorneys understand the anger and sadness that many families experience when they trust a nursing home to care for an elderly loved one, only to discover that their family members were forced to endure abuse or neglect because the facility was understaffed or the staff was not trained properly. Our lawyers are well-versed in the area of nursing home injuries, and we know that understaffing is linked to a large percentage of all nursing home injuries. If your family member was injured or became increasingly ill due to an understaffed nursing facility, our team is fully prepared to go to work on your family's behalf.

Cook County Attorneys for Inadequate Staffing

In today's world, many—if not most—nursing homes struggle to keep staffing levels where they should be, and some have a hard time keeping enough staff to provide appropriate care for their residents. High stress and low pay often lead to very high turnover, which is a major contributor to the issue. Staff shortages are often even more problematic on nights and weekends, as well as holidays and other situations when staff members tend to call off and finding a replacement is difficult.

Low staffing levels can open the door for a wide range of abuse and neglect injuries, including:

• Bedsores
• Falls
• Malnutrition and dehydration
• Medication errors
• Choking
• Physical abuse by staff
• Resident-on-resident abuse
• Wandering or elopement

Understaffing often leads to another extremely dangerous and related issue: low-quality staff members. Some nursing facilities are short-staffed to such a degree that they are desperate enough to hire nearly anyone who applies—often cutting corners to do so. This means that the home might hire staff without conducting background checks or work histories. It also means that the facility does not have the time to train new employees properly. Instead, new hires may be put right to work without the necessary training, which can have a direct negative effect on the residents. Poor hiring and training practices place residents at increased risk of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, as well as other types of injuries.

Helping You Take Action

If your loved one has suffered any type of injury that would have been prevented by having a full, well-trained staff, the team at Kaiser Law is ready to help. Our lawyers have over 100 years of combined injury law experience, and we know how to get results in nursing home injury cases. We will conduct an in-depth review of the circumstances to determine how your loved one's injuries occurred and why. We will examine medical records, staff rosters, and personnel files, as well as the facility's hiring and training practices so that we can hold the appropriate party or parties accountable. Our attorneys will work hard to get your loved one full compensation for his or her injuries.

Schedule a Free Consultation

Nursing home understaffing is a serious problem, and it contributes to many nursing home injuries. Contact our office to get the help you need when your family has been affected by inadequate nursing home staffing. Call 630-274-4400 for a free consultation and case evaluation at Kaiser Law today. Our firm serves clients in Melrose Park, Itasca, Wood Dale, Addison, Niles, Northlake, Des Plaines, Franklin Park, Elk Grove Village, Elmhurst, Bensenville, DuPage County, Cook County, and the neighboring areas.