You need to know the rules for nursing home negligence lawsuits in Illinois

In Illinois, nursing home abuse and neglect injury cases are not like other types of personal injury cases. In our state, nursing home abuse and negligence cases are governed by the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act—a state statute that provides specific rules about resident rights, nursing home responsibilities, and the recovery of nursing home residents who have been hurt by the negligence of nursing home staff, abuse by nursing home staff, or a violation of the law.

Six Things You Need to Know About Nursing Home Injury Cases

In order to protect your right to a fair recovery, or to help your loved one protect her right to fair recovery, it is important to know:

  • Whether you have the right to bring a lawsuit. Not everyone has legal standing to sue. If you do not have standing and you file a lawsuit, then the defense will motion to the court to dismiss your case and that motion will be granted. Accordingly, it is important to know if you have standing to sue before you file a complaint.
     
  • How long you have to bring a lawsuit. The law limits the amount of time that you have to file a lawsuit. You do not want to miss this deadline, or your case will be dismissed without any recovery.
     
  • How to collect evidence to support your claim. Once you file a claim, you will need evidence to support your allegations. Various documents, photos, videos, eyewitness statements and other evidence may be important to your claim.
     
  • Whether you need expert witnesses to help prove your case. Some cases, but not all cases, may benefit from expert witness testimony that helps you prove what happened, the extent of the medical damages, or the value of the damages.
     
  • How settlements work in nursing home abuse or negligence cases. The terms of your nursing home contract may require you to go to arbitration rather than to file a lawsuit in court. It is important to know how to pursue your rights and how to achieve a fair arbitration award or settlement if you’ve been hurt.
     
  • Whether you need an attorney. Nursing home abuse and negligence lawsuits are often contested and an experienced lawyer may help you protect your rights and fair recovery.

This information is important and can help you protect your rights. However, you may still have questions about your rights. We invite you to learn as much as possible, as soon as possible, so that you can make informed decisions about what to do during this difficult time. Please read our FREE book, Guide for Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Victims: What You Need to Know to Protect Your Legal Rights and Get Every Dollar You Deserve, or start a live chat with us today to learn more.

Jason F. Abraham
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Helping car accident and personal injury victims throughout Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa since 1993.