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You may be outraged by what happened in a nursing home, and you may want to see justice done. Yet simply knowing about nursing home negligence or abuse does not give you the legal right to bring a lawsuit. Instead, you have to have a certain stake or interest in what happened that allows you to pursue a legal case in an Illinois court. This is known as standing to sue.
Three Ways to Have Standing to Sue in an Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Case
Generally, you must be one of the following three people in order to have standing to sue for the harm done by abuse or negligence in a nursing home. You must be:
- The nursing home resident who suffered an injury due to a violation of the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act. The Nursing Home Care Act allows a resident who has been abused, who has been neglected, or whose rights have been violated to pursue a claim.
- The legal guardian of a nursing home resident who is mentally disabled, incompetent, or otherwise unable to file a claim herself. As the legal guardian, you have the right to act on behalf of the resident and to sue for damages pursuant to the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act if the resident whom you represent was injured by abuse or negligence.
- The personal representative of the estate of a resident who suffered an injury prior to passing away. The estate has the right to sue for harm done prior to death. This is not a wrongful death action, but rather a claim that may be brought pursuant to the Illinois Survival Act.
If you file a lawsuit and you do not have standing to sue, then you can expect that the nursing home will quickly motion the court to dismiss your case and that the court will grant that motion.
Accordingly, it is important to make sure that you have the right to pursue a lawsuit before you file one. To find out if you can file a lawsuit and more about how a nursing home lawsuit works, please contact an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer who is committed to standing up for the rights of nursing home residents. Our attorneys would be pleased to provide you with a free, no-obligation consultation. Please start a live chat with us now or call us directly at 1-800-800-5678 at any time.
