Lockport Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Asks:
Did You Get Injured?
Call The Lockport Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer ANY TIME!
312-500-4500
"My Injury Guy" Scott DeSalvo
Trial-Trained Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer for Lockport & Will County
Choosing a nursing home or rehab center for a parent is one of the hardest decisions a family makes. You trusted the staff to keep them safe, clean, fed, and cared for. When you discover a bedsore, an unexplained fall, sudden weight loss, or bruises nobody can explain, that trust is broken.
Many Lockport families deal with long-term care facilities and short-term rehab centers, often right after a hospital stay. Short-term rehab patients can be especially vulnerable, because they're recovering from surgery or illness and depend on staff for almost everything.
Here's what many families don't know: the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act gives residents specific rights, and it lets families recover attorney's fees and costs from a facility that violates those rights. That law was written because the legislature knew neglect was a real problem.
I'm Scott DeSalvo, and I've handled serious injury cases for almost 30 years. For other kinds of injuries, see my Lockport personal injury attorney page.
You pay nothing up front and there's no fee unless we win. Call me any time at 312-500-4500.
When I was nine, my father, a truck driver and Teamster, was hurt at work. His lawyer ignored him, and his case took seventeen years. I learned early how it feels when the people responsible for helping you don't.
Nursing home residents often can't speak up for themselves. I make sure someone does.
Free. Not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by this chat. Prefer to talk? Call (312) 500-4500, answered 24/7.
The Nursing Home Care Act (210 ILCS 45) protects residents of licensed facilities from abuse and neglect and gives them rights to proper care, dignity, and privacy. When a facility violates the Act and a resident is harmed, the facility can be required to pay damages plus the family's attorney's fees and costs.
Most neglect isn't caused by one bad employee. It's caused by too few staff members caring for too many residents. Residents don't get turned, so bedsores develop. They don't get help to the bathroom, so they fall. They don't get enough water, so they become dehydrated.
Facilities are inspected by the Illinois Department of Public Health, and federal inspection results and staffing data are available through Medicare. Past violations can show a pattern the facility knew about.
Many facilities include arbitration agreements in their admission paperwork. Whether one applies to your family's case depends on the document and the circumstances. Don't assume you can't go to court.
Bottom Line: Neglect is usually a business decision about staffing, not an accident.
Pressure injuries that develop or worsen in a facility are often a sign residents weren't turned or monitored.
Hip fractures and head injuries from falls, especially when a resident was known to be at risk.
Weight loss, dehydration, untreated infections, and sepsis.
Physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, and medication mistakes or overmedication.
Picture this. Your father goes to a rehab center after hip surgery. Three weeks later, you notice he's confused and has a deep sore on his lower back that nobody told you about. He's hospitalized with an infection. The facility's records say he was turned every two hours. The staffing records may tell a different story.
Look, nursing home companies and their insurers have a standard set of defenses:
Here's what most lawyers won't tell you: the most powerful evidence in many neglect cases is the facility's own staffing records and payroll data. Comparing who was actually working to what the chart says can expose the truth.
Bottom Line: The chart says what the facility wants it to say. The staffing records show what happened.
Many nursing home cases settle, and settlement is often the right result for families. But facilities settle fairly when they know your lawyer will take the case to trial if needed.
I'm a graduate of Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyers College and the exclusive Keenan Trial Institute. I've invested more than $100,000 in advanced trial training and have tried more than 30 jury trials.
Nothing up front. I advance the costs, and I'm paid only from what I recover. Under the Nursing Home Care Act, the facility may also be ordered to pay attorney's fees.
Find Out What YOUR Case Might Be Worth...for free.
Call me for a free conversation. I'll listen, answer your questions, and tell you honestly what I think.
If you hire me, I gather the medical chart, care plans, inspection reports, and staffing records, and have them reviewed by medical experts. I then make a demand on the facility. If it doesn't settle fairly, I file suit in the Circuit Court of Will County.
Worried about a loved one in a Lockport-area facility? Call 312-500-4500 any time.
Evidence fades fast, and the insurance company has already started working on its side of the story. Call me for a free consultation, 24/7/365. No money out of pocket. No fee unless we win.
Nearest office: The Law Office of Scott D. DeSalvo, LLC, 116 N Chicago St, Suite 301 - Kendall, Joliet, IL 60432, about 15 minutes from Lockport. Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–3 p.m., and by appointment.
Call me now: 312-500-4500
Nothing up front. I handle these cases on contingency, so you pay no money out of pocket and I'm paid only from what I recover for you: 33⅓% for most cases, or 40% if a lawsuit is filed. I advance the costs. If we don't win, there's no fee. Call 24/7/365 at 312-500-4500.
Common signs include bedsores, frequent falls, unexplained bruises or fractures, sudden weight loss, dehydration, poor hygiene, untreated infections, and sudden changes in mood or behavior. If something seems wrong, trust your instincts and ask questions.
The Act (210 ILCS 45) protects residents of licensed facilities in Illinois. It gives residents the right to be free from abuse and neglect and to receive adequate care. If a facility violates the Act and a resident is injured, the facility can be held liable for damages, plus attorney's fees and costs.
Possibly. Some arbitration agreements in nursing home admission papers are enforceable, and some aren't, depending on how they were signed, who signed them, and what they say. Have a lawyer review the agreement before assuming you can't go to court.
Generally two years from when the injury was discovered (735 ILCS 5/13-202). If the neglect caused a death, wrongful death rules apply. Some claims involving medical care have additional deadlines. Talk to a lawyer promptly.
If you believe your loved one is in danger, their safety comes first. Moving them won't hurt a legal claim. Before you move them, take photos and request copies of their records if you can.
Scott DeSalvo founded DeSalvo Law to help injured people throughout Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1998, IARDC #6244452, Scott has represented over 3,000 clients in personal injury, workers compensation, and accident cases.
No Fee Unless You Win | Free Consultation | 24/7 Availability Call or Text: (312) 500-4500
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