If your loved one has suffered abuse or neglect in a care home or assisted living facility, a qualified Peoria nursing home abuse lawyer can help your family seek justice. Sadly, many nursing home residents in Illinois experience preventable injuries, emotional trauma, or even wrongful death due to the actions—or inaction—of nursing home staff and administrators.
At Nursing Home Law Center, our firm focuses exclusively on nursing home abuse cases. We provide dedicated legal representation for families whose elderly loved ones have suffered abuse or neglect in long-term living facilities. Whether your case involves physical abuse, emotional abuse, financial exploitation, or medication errors, we’re here to hold the negligent parties accountable.
Contact us today for a free consultation to discuss your legal options and take the first step toward protecting your loved one’s injuries and rights.
We can help you take legal action against facilities such as:
Out of the nine nursing home facilities reviewed by the CMS in the Peoria, IL area, three are cited for abuse. Five received one- or two-star CMS ratings, signaling poor performance in areas such as staffing, health inspections, and quality measures. One facility is currently unrated and appears in the federal Special Focus Facility program due to repeated compliance problems.
Nursing home abuse refers to deliberate actions that cause harm to a resident, including physical abuse, emotional mistreatment, financial exploitation, or sexual assault. This may involve striking, yelling at, intimidating, or taking advantage of an elderly person under the care of a nursing home.
Neglect, by contrast, occurs when nursing home staff fail to meet a resident’s essential needs. This can include not providing proper medical attention, assistance with hygiene or mobility, adequate food and water, or a safe living environment. When this failure leads to emotional trauma, physical harm, or even death, it may give rise to a nursing home negligence claim.
The underlying causes of abuse and neglect in nursing homes often begin with operational failures. Short staffing, poor training, and lack of oversight can all increase the risk of harm to residents. In many cases, long-term care facilities prioritize cost-saving over resident safety, leaving elderly people in the hands of unqualified or overworked caregivers.
Other contributing factors include high employee turnover, failure to conduct proper background checks, and a culture of complacency toward repeated problems. These issues place vulnerable individuals at greater risk and signal a facility that may be violating its legal duty under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act.
Addressing these failures requires better staffing policies, stronger regulations, and facility leadership that prioritizes patient care.
Nursing home abuse and neglect can take many forms, all of which place residents at serious risk of harm. These incidents are often preventable and typically arise from facility mismanagement, staff errors, or systemic failures.
Also known as pressure ulcers, these painful wounds form when immobile residents are left in the same position too long without proper care. Infections and sepsis can result if they aren’t treated quickly.
These are signs that staff may not be monitoring residents’ intake or are failing to encourage meals and fluids. This is especially alarming when residents experience sudden weight loss or exhibit physical weakness.
Residents may fall due to poor supervision, inadequate staffing, or failure to implement a fall prevention plan. Common contributing factors include untrained staff, unaddressed hazards, and improper use of mobility aids. These events can result in broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, or even wrongful death.
Mistakes—such as giving the wrong medication, skipping doses, or misusing antipsychotic drugs—can cause significant physical harm and emotional distress. Nursing homes that fail to supervise medication administration or ignore dangerous side effects may be liable for medication mistakes.
This includes poor hygiene, unsanitary conditions, and failure to provide clean living environments. Residents may be left in soiled clothing or bedding, suffer infections due to dirty facilities, or be denied basic personal care such as bathing or grooming.
In more severe cases, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional mistreatment may occur. Nursing home abuse can be committed by staff members, other residents, or even third-party contractors. Major red flags of this behavior include unexplained bruises, sexually transmitted infections, withdrawal, or sudden changes in demeanor.
This often involves unauthorized access to a resident’s funds, theft, or forged signatures.
Common signs of abuse or neglect in a nursing home include:
Filing a nursing home abuse claim in Illinois requires a careful review of the facts and often a legal analysis of whether a facility or its staff violated the standard of care outlined in the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act (210 ILCS 45/). This includes whether statutory duties were neglected or basic obligations were ignored, resulting in serious harm.
Before filing a claim, our attorneys will gather evidence to determine whether the case meets the legal threshold for abuse or neglect. This process includes:
Because these claims often involve technical and medical evidence, expert testimony may be needed to prove that the nursing home deviated from its legal duty of care.
Victims of nursing home abuse or neglect—or their legal representatives—have the right to seek compensation for their suffering.
Sadly, many residents are not able to advocate for themselves due to cognitive impairments, physical limitations, or emotional trauma. In these cases, a legal guardian, family member, or person with power of attorney can pursue legal action on the resident’s behalf.
If the abuse led to death, immediate family members such as children or a surviving spouse may file a wrongful death claim.
To prove nursing home negligence under Illinois law, your attorney must show:
Legal claims often rely on witness testimony, expert reviews, and detailed medical records.
Start gathering evidence as soon as you suspect abuse. Take photos of injuries or unsafe conditions, jot down what your loved one says, and log dates, times, and staff interactions. Even small details can help build a strong case, especially when emotional abuse leaves little physical evidence.
The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act (210 ILCS 45) governs long-term care facilities and outlines specific rights for nursing home residents. It mandates that facilities provide adequate care, maintain safe environments, and uphold dignity and autonomy for nursing home patients.
The law also holds administrators and staff accountable for reporting abuse or neglect and allows victims to pursue legal action for violations. Facilities can be liable for both acts and omissions that lead to harm.
The following care settings may be held accountable for abuse or neglect:
Liability in a nursing home abuse case doesn’t stop at the individual who committed the act. Facility owners, managers, staff, and other employees can all be held responsible, especially if poor hiring practices, lack of supervision, or repeated violations played a role. Even third parties like contractors or vendors may be liable if their actions caused harm.
Most Peoria nursing home abuse attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. That means you pay nothing unless your attorney wins your case. Your initial consultation is also free, so there’s no financial risk to seeking legal guidance.
Renal failure in nursing home residents can result from dehydration, unmanaged chronic conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure, or improper medication management. Poor oversight by staff may delay diagnosis and treatment, increasing the risk of serious kidney damage.
Infections often occur due to unsanitary conditions, poor hygiene, lack of infection control protocols, or untreated wounds. Nursing home patients may develop urinary tract infections, respiratory infections, or skin infections when staff fail to maintain proper care and cleanliness.
Wandering and eloping typically happen when nursing home residents with cognitive impairments are left unsupervised. Inadequate staffing, broken alarms, or unsecured doors can allow at-risk residents to leave the facility unnoticed, putting them in immediate danger.
Yes, nursing home residents with dementia or Alzheimer’s are more vulnerable to falls, malnutrition, and abuse. Their cognitive challenges often prevent them from recognizing danger or reporting mistreatment, which is why they require close monitoring and compassionate care.
If your loved one has suffered abuse or neglect in a Peoria nursing home, you don’t have to face this alone. Our experienced nursing home abuse lawyers are here to help you seek justice and protect your family’s rights. We’ll investigate what happened, hold the responsible parties accountable, and fight for the compensation your loved one deserves.
Contact our law firm at (800) 926-7565 or fill out our contact form.