What Happens if Someone Gets an Infection in a Nursing Home? | IL

 Posted on September 12, 2024 in Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse

The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act obligates nursing homes and other long-term care facilities to meet multiple care standards to safeguard patients. Cleanliness, assistance with personal hygiene, and prompt medical treatment are among the many responsibilities these facilities have. Most nursing home patients are elderly and have a higher susceptibility to infections.

Proper medical care to treat infections that arise usually prevents severe consequences. Untreated infections are capable of causing life-threatening conditions that may require surgical intervention, additional treatment, and around-the-clock monitoring. If your parent’s condition worsened due to nursing home neglect, a dedicated lawyer from Mannarino & Brasfield, A Division of Schwartz Jambois, can hold the responsible parties accountable and help you get a settlement amount that covers all your parent’s damages.

Why Are Nursing Home Residents Susceptible to Infection?

Along with advanced age, many nursing home patients are vulnerable in other ways, including:

• Weakened immune systems

• Pre-existing health conditions

• Lack of mobility

• Cognitive decline

• Inability to communicate

Shared living spaces and contact with other patients increase the chance of infection spreading among a facility’s residents. Although staff should wash their hands before interacting with each patient, germs can spread from employees, as well.

Many patients cannot care for themselves, relying on caregivers to help them bathe, move, brush their teeth, and change clothes. When caregivers do not fulfill these responsibilities, the lack of proper personal hygiene can also make residents more likely to get infections.

Whether due to intentional neglect, insufficient staff, poorly trained caregivers, or incompetent medical attention, an untreated infection can dramatically impact patients. Your legal team from Mannarino & Brasfield, A Division of Schwartz Jambois, will investigate your parent’s condition and the underlying causes so we can hold the appropriate parties liable.

What Serious Conditions Can Untreated Infections Cause?

Common nursing home infections, such as urinary tract, dental, respiratory, surgical site, and bedsore infections, can lead to various conditions. Some of the most serious include:

• Permanent tissue damage

• Sepsis

• Organ failure

• Chronic pain

• Secondary infections, such as pneumonia

• Necrotizing fasciitis

• Endocarditis

• Toxic shock syndrome

• Gangrene

• Amputations

• Death

Patients may also experience significant pain and suffering, depression, withdrawal, and other associated losses. If these or other consequences of an untreated infection have affected your parent, you can seek compensation for the additional medical and care expenses related to the negligence, such as required medical devices, diminished quality of life, and potentially punitive damages for egregious negligence. If the untreated infection leads to loss of life, you may qualify for compensation through a wrongful death action.

Call for Your Free Consultation With Our Highly Effective Rockford, IL Nursing Home Neglect Lawyers

When a loved one suffers because of nursing home neglect, Mannarino & Brasfield, A Division of Schwartz Jambois, can help you hold the at-fault parties accountable. We have the skills, legal knowledge, and resources necessary to handle complex cases successfully. We have helped clients win millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts, and we look forward to assisting you. Call us at 815-215-7561 today to discuss your case with our dedicated Winnebago County, IL personal injury attorneys.