Long-term care facilities that cater to the elderly and the immobile have a difficult job to do. It takes hard work and compassion to provide the care and treatments these patients/residents require. Sadly, there are many facilities that hire workers who are not in the business of “caring” which places many residents at risk of suffering an injury or contracting an illness. While these facilities are required to follow federal regulations, evidence has proven that there is little repercussion when laws are broken.
https://dinizululawgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/iStock-820399330.jpg6831024Yao Dinizuluhttps://dinizululawgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/logo.svgYao Dinizulu2018-01-23 13:40:302018-01-23 13:40:30What are Nursing Homes in Illinois Being Fined For?
The nursing home industry has spoken and asked for Medicare to shift their penalty protocols to help provide the industry with some relief. And surprisingly enough, President Trump seems to be answering their request. The New York Times has reported that the Trump administration “is scaling back the use of fines against nursing homes that harm residents or place them in grave risk of injury.”]. While Illinois already struggles with this issue, reducing the fines nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are faced with for behaving negligently isn’t going to help solve the issue. Perhaps it will only worsen it.
https://dinizululawgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/iStock-874789476.jpg6831024Yao Dinizuluhttps://dinizululawgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/logo.svgYao Dinizulu2018-01-23 10:06:372018-01-23 10:06:37The Nursing Home Industry is Seeking Relief from Being Penalized for Misconduct
If you have come to terms that now is the time that your elderly loved one receives their regular care from a home health care company or in a long-term care facility, you want to be sure you place them in the right hands. But, how do you know which company or facility is licensed and qualified to provide the care and treatment you want rendered to your loved one? The truth is, it takes time and patience as this shouldn’t be a rushed process.
https://dinizululawgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/photodune-17904021-health-care-worker-and-elderly-patient-xs.jpg365548Yao Dinizuluhttps://dinizululawgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/logo.svgYao Dinizulu2018-01-02 12:35:552018-01-02 12:35:55How to Choose the Right Caregiver for Your Elderly Loved One
Robert, an aging pastor, who lived a life of service and put others first, was neglected by his care providers in an Illinois nursing home.
Robert was admitted into a nursing home with severe illnesses that required 24-hour care. Robert suffered from Parkinson’s disease, dementia, and dysphasia, among other medical conditions. Dysphasia causes one to have trouble swallowing food and therefore, the person must be monitored closely to ensure proper digestion. Failure to monitor this food intake can cause the person to choke or aspirate, meaning the food gets stuck in the throat or lung.Because of these risks, Robert should never be allowed to eat alone. What did the nursing home do to monitor these health concerns? Watch the video to learn more.
Just a few weeks after being admitted, a care giver at the nursing home noticed Robert was eating poorly and pocketing food. This is critical because since Robert was pocketing food, he could later eat that food while he wasn’t being watched and could suffocate as a result. The caregiver did absolutely nothing after noticing that Robert was pocketing food, like alerting the doctor or the head nurse.
After a few days, Robert was found to be lethargic with concealed food on him. He developed a cough and congestion, had labored breathing, and a fever. These symptoms worsened.
Finally, the nursing home sent Robert to a hospital. Only after going to the hospital was Robert diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia. You see, Robert had likely ingested the pocketed food that became lodged in his lung, causing the aspiration pneumonia. Aspiration pneumonia happens when substances, such as gastric contents, are inhaled into the lungs. This also creates a bacterial infection in the lung, leading to aspiration pneumonia.
Robert was a total-assist resident, meaning he needed to be fed, clothed, and changed. The nursing home ignored these responsibilities even though they fully understood Robert’s physical and mental limitations when they agreed to admit him into their facility.
Robert’s wife Michelle contacted the administrators at this nursing home to get them to properly care for Robert. They all made promises, yet the same pattern of unreasonable care continued.
I want all families like Michelle’s and all nursing home residents to know that nursing homes are accountable for the promises they make to you. There are remedies when nursing homes do wrong and cause you harm.
I know you may be watching this video because you probably have questions about your own loved one in a nursing home. Contact the Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd. at 1-312-384-1920 or 1-800-693-1LAW. We answer questions like yours every day.
https://dinizululawgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/logo.svg00Yao Dinizuluhttps://dinizululawgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/logo.svgYao Dinizulu2017-12-22 11:48:022017-12-22 11:48:02Aging Pastor Neglected by His Nursing Home Caregivers
In a recently filed nursing home lawsuit in McHenry County, we are learning that a nursing home patient’s reported claims weren’t handled in the proper manner. Although many residents living in a long-term care facility might experience symptoms associated with dementia or Alzheimer’s, it doesn’t mean that everything they report is inaccurate.
https://dinizululawgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/iStock-520740570.jpg6831024Yao Dinizuluhttps://dinizululawgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/logo.svgYao Dinizulu2017-12-15 13:40:522017-12-15 13:40:52How Often Are Nursing Home Patient Claims Mistaken to be Untrue?
The residents who occupy the rooms of Chicago nursing homes are there for a reason. They are elderly, fragile, or simply cannot take care of themselves in the manner that supports overall health and wellness. While nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are expected to care for these individuals and protect them from danger, nursing home abuse is evident in many facilities located all across the country, not just in Illinois.
https://dinizululawgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/iStock-164196419.jpg6831024Yao Dinizuluhttps://dinizululawgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/logo.svgYao Dinizulu2017-12-01 14:26:252017-12-01 14:26:25Is Your Loved One the Victim of Resident to Resident Elder Mistreatment (RREM)?
For our aging loved ones, bed sores can be a serious and even deadly affliction. Also known as decubitus ulcers or pressure sores, bedsores can range in severity from superficial skin wounds to deep ulcers that expose bone. As though deep skin ulcers were not a severe enough issue, the Mayo Clinic describes complications that may arise from bed sores including:
Sepsis – a life threatening condition that may result in organ failure
Cellulitis – an infection of soft tissues causing pain, redness and swelling
Bone and Joint Infections – an infection that resides deep in the bones resulting in reduced limb function
Squamous Cell Carcinoma – a cancer that results from wounds that will not heal
In addition to the terrible pain and debilitating wounds, each bed sore complication described above can result in death. It is oftentimes difficult for elderly individuals to heal effectively, thus preventing bed sores can be a life or death matter.
Are Bed Sores Preventable?
As the name implies, pressure sores are caused by pressure on the skin. This pressure ultimately reduces blood flow resulting in a breakdown of the tissue. In addition to sustained pressure on the skin, friction and shear can be contributing factors as well. For example, a nursing home resident in an adjustable bed that tilts up or down may experience shear as the bed adjust against their body weight. If a nursing home caretaker handles an individual too roughly, the friction may be enough to damage skin that is already frail.
Data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that 11% of residents in nursing homes may have bed sores. Sometimes bedsores occur in nursing home residents despite good efforts, but there are still measures a nursing home care taker should follow to prevent bed sores. For example, encouraging the proper movement in residents with limited mobility is crucial to preventing bed sores. If an individual is bedridden or wheelchair bound, the patient must be repositioned every couple of hours.
What To Do If Your Loved One Develops Bedsores While in a Nursing Home?
While we hope that our aging or disabled loved ones would be treated properly in a nursing home, we know that oftentimes this is not the case. Unfortunately, many nursing homes fail their residents and let them fall victim to neglect or abuse, resulting in bedsores or far worse outcomes. As skilled nursing home neglect attorneys in Chicago, the Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd. knows what the standard of care is for Illinois nursing homes. With over 50 years of combined experience, our nursing home abuse lawyers hold caregivers accountable for the injuries they have caused their residents.
Contact us by email or call us at 1-312-384-1920 or 1-800-693-1LAW to schedule a free consultation. Our nursing home abuse attorneys can build a case that brings justice and compensation for your injured loved ones.
https://dinizululawgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Nursing-home-resident-in-bed_724x482.jpg482725Yao Dinizuluhttps://dinizululawgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/logo.svgYao Dinizulu2017-10-20 15:01:132017-10-20 15:01:13How Serious Are Bed Sores For Nursing Home Residents?
While the state of Illinois requires that its professionals report nursing home abuse and/or neglect, not always do they take the necessary measures to do so. Unfortunately, many cases of elder abuse go unnoticed and unaddressed. However, you have the power with the right Chicago nursing home abuse lawyer to make a difference in your family member’s life.
https://dinizululawgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/iStock-638287756.jpg6831024Yao Dinizuluhttps://dinizululawgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/logo.svgYao Dinizulu2017-10-16 13:37:342017-10-16 13:37:34I Think My Loved One is Being Abused or Neglected in a Nursing Home. Who Can Help Me?
If your loved one is in a nursing home in Chicago, IL, you probably visit them regularly to check in, and spend quality time with them and stay on top of their living conditions, right? While things may appear to be going well, it is important to be aware of what’s going on under the surface.
The issue of elder abuse and nursing home mistreatment and neglect is on the rise and is expected to continue to increase in the coming years. In a recent government audit, it was revealed that one in four cases of possible sexual and physical abuse against nursing home patients apparently went unreported to police” [Source: wqad.com]. Although Medicare is required by law to enforce a federal law that requires facilities to notify law enforcement of the abuse, 38 of the 134 cases investigated showed no contact with law enforcement was made as the hospital records indicated no such report in their records.
https://dinizululawgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/iStock-518243228.jpg6831024Yao Dinizuluhttps://dinizululawgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/logo.svgYao Dinizulu2017-09-27 16:20:512017-09-27 16:20:51Illinois Has Been Recognized with the Most Cases of Nursing Home Abuse Incidents
