With a name like “Integrity,” you would hope that this nursing home organization treats its residents with care, respect, and open and honest communication. Their website even makes mention of a C.S. Lewis quote saying, “Integrity is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.” But is Integrity Nursing Home doing the right thing for your loved one?
At your nursing home, however, can you be sure that every single member of the staff is doing the right thing when it comes to the care of your elderly loved one? Integrity Nursing Home conveys images of warm, caring staff and scenic environments. It is hard to imagine that abuse could take place at these scenic facilities dedicated to caring for the most vulnerable of our population.
However unthinkable, it does happen. The World Health Organization estimates that at least 15.7 percent of adults over the age of 60 have suffered from some form of abuse in a nursing home facility. However, they also estimate that as few as 1 in 24 cases of abuse are ever reported.
At Karlin, Fleisher & Falkenberg, LLC, we have a skilled team of attorneys with the resources it takes to investigate abuse claims at any Integrity Nursing Home facility. We follow the trail of evidence to its logical conclusion, no matter which institution may be involved. Why? Because we believe that you and your family deserve respect, compassion, and to live your lives free from the physical and emotional pain of abuse.
If you are concerned about the health and safety of a loved one, contact the legal team at Karlin, Fleisher & Falkenberg, LLC. We’ll fight for your loved one’s rights and the compensation your family needs to move forward. Call 312-346-8620 to schedule your free consultation and share your concerns with us.
How Do You Know It’s Abuse?
If your family member suddenly suffers multiple falls or broken bones, has burn marks, or unusual or unexplained cuts or bruises, you may start to assume the worst. They are being abused. However, nursing home abuse comes in many different forms, and it isn’t always about physical violence.
That’s what makes it so hard to identify in some cases. Nursing home abuse is considered any form of intentional harm inflicted on an elderly resident by someone in a position of authority. This may be physical harm, but it can also include other things such as inflicting mental punishment on a resident or intentionally harming their financial standing.
What does nursing home abuse look like? It can include any of the following:
How to Spot Abuse
Once family members realize that abuse can take several different forms, they can be more open to looking for the subtle indications that abuse may be taking place. There may not always be physical marks to point towards something out of the ordinary happening. Financial abuse can leave scars on an elderly resident’s pocketbook, saddling them with debt that isn’t theirs, leaving them to cope with stolen valuables or ruined by fraudulent investment scams. Emotional abuse can deeply wound an elderly resident’s mental well-being, leading to crippling depression, anxiety, and agitation.
Spotting the early warning signs of abuse is important. Here’s what to be on the lookout for:
- Multiple broken bones or falls
- Multiple concussions
- Bruises, cuts, or unexplained marks
- Burns
- Blood in their underwear or on bed linens
- Sudden difficulty sitting or standing
- Bruises on thighs
- Poor hygiene
- Unchanged or unwashed lines or unwashed clothing
- Bedsores
- Malnourishment
- Dehydration
- Sudden change in eating or sleeping patterns
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Refusing to cooperate with staff members or certain caregivers
- Withdraws from family and friends
- Isolation
- Change in a financial situation
- Possessions that go missing
- Change in investments
- Inability to pay bills
Keep a record of any signs of abuse that you see or suspect. This will help you remember important details to review with your attorney.
Why You Need an Attorney for Integrity Nursing Home Abuse
Alerting an attorney to your situation is one of the best ways to ensure that you or your loved one’s rights are being protected. Unfortunately, not all nursing homes take abuse complaints seriously. Some may conduct slow and incomplete investigations, while others may not investigate at all. While it may seem hard to believe that a facility wouldn’t take allegations of abuse seriously when it has been charged with the health and safety of the elderly, it does happen.
Many nursing homes are for-profit businesses. If an investigation substantiates claims of abuse, it can jeopardize the facility’s government funding and its reputation, and it opens the facility up to numerous lawsuits. These are all very costly consequences that nursing homes want to avoid because they eat into profit margins.
An experienced attorney can conduct a thorough and complete investigation into the circumstances surrounding your particular case. They can give you valuable legal advice, protect your rights, and seek the compensation you or your loved one may be entitled to.
When abuse happens in a nursing home, that facility and the abusive caregiver must be held accountable for their actions for the sake of your family. The legal team at Karlin, Fleisher & Falkenberg, LLC not only has the experience but also the resources to go head to head with nursing homes that fail in their duty to care for the elderly.
Contact an Integrity Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Today
If you or a loved one is being abused within the walls of a Chicago nursing home, contact Karlin, Fleisher & Falkenberg, LLC immediately. Our nursing home abuse attorneys want to get to the bottom of abuse claims before valuable evidence is lost or destroyed. Loved one’s golden years should be just that, golden – not marred by abuse and callousness. We’ll help you take steps to secure your loved one’s safety, and we’ll fight for the compensation you deserve following the abuse of your family member.
Contact Karlin, Fleisher & Falkenberg, LLC at 312-346-8620 for a free consultation about the circumstances surrounding your case. The evaluation is confidential. You have nothing to lose, and justice to gain. Call today for the compassionate team you deserve.