The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act spells out certain rights that all residents of skilled nursing facilities have. Many of these rights exist to protect a nursing home resident’s safety, dignity, and property. It is very serious if a nursing home violates the rights of a resident as outlined in the Act. Nursing home abuse or neglect is a form of medical malpractice. If you suspect that your rights or the rights of your loved one are being violated by nursing home staff, you should consider contacting an attorney. You or your loved one may be entitled to financial compensation.

What Rights Are Included in the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act?

When you trust a nursing home to care for you or your aging family member only to have the facility ignore these legal rights, it can be an extremely upsetting or even dangerous situation. Every nursing home resident - and everyone who loves a nursing home resident - should familiarize themselves with what rights they have. Here are a few of the rights the State of Illinois sets out:

• Financial Management - A nursing home cannot deny a resident access to their own finances and must get permission before spending any of a resident’s money. If the nursing home is holding onto a resident’s money for them, the home must provide a statement each quarter. If the resident has designated someone else, such as by power of attorney, to manage their finances, the nursing home cannot interfere.
• Choice in Care - Many nursing home residents are nearing the natural ends of their lives. Every resident has the right to decide for themselves what types of care they would want. Do Not Resuscitate orders and healthcare powers of attorneys, as well as living wills, must be respected. As long as the resident had appropriate legal capacity to sign the document at the time it was made, a nursing home must honor the patient’s wishes.
• Freedom from Restraint - Unless it is necessary for the safety of the resident and ordered by a doctor, patients have the right to be free from both physical and chemical restraints.
• Privacy and Dignity - Just because a person has moved into a nursing home does not mean they lose their right to privacy in their medical care. During a physical examination or discussion about the resident’s health or course of treatment, no one but the care team may be present or included without the resident’s permission.
• Personal Property - Residents have the right to wear their own clothing and to keep and use their own personal belongings. Unless it is for safety reasons, staff cannot take away or remove a resident’s personal items.

These are just a few examples of some of the rights Illinois has made a point of protecting for residents of nursing homes. If any situation in a nursing home concerns you, it may be best to consult an attorney.

Dog bites can be serious matters, especially when children are the victim. Because children are smaller and less able to protect themselves against an attacking dog, their injuries can be severe and even life-threatening. Millions of people are bitten by dogs each year in the United States, and many victims of dog bites require medical treatment.

In this article, we will look at some of the consequences of dog bites and what legal remedies may be available to victims. If your child has been attacked or bitten by a neighbor’s dog in Illinois, contact a personal injury attorney right away to find out more about your options under Illinois law.

Who is Responsible for a Dog Bite in Illinois?

Illinois law has a statute specifically to address the responsibility of pets that attack, try to attack, or injure people. The statute provides that a victim of a dog bite can bring a claim for civil damages against the owner or caregiver of the dog for the full amount of the injury, as long as the dog was not provoked and the victim was in a place where he or she was legally allowed to be.

Last month, Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill requiring the Department of Public Health, the State Board of Education, and the Department of Children and Family Services to work together to establish an anaphylactic training policy at daycare facilities and schools in order to prevent personal injury due to allergies.

This means Illinois daycare centers must train their employees how to recognize and treat anaphylactic shock, a dangerous and sometimes life-threatening allergic reaction. This new law is known as an “Elijah’s Law,” named after a tragic incident in which a daycare fed a child named Elija Silvera dairy in his lunch despite knowing Silvera had a severe dairy allergy. Silvera, just three years old, passed away from an allergic reaction.

Are Illinois Daycares Responsible for Preventing Food Allergen Exposures?

In 2008, Congress passed an amendment to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This amendment codified specific protections for children with allergies, mandating that public and private schools and daycares provide accommodations and take safety precautions to protect children with food allergies.

Illinoians today dine out more than they ever have, saving themselves the time and effort of preparing meals after a long day of work. Unfortunately, people dining out more often also means an increase in mild and serious injuries that occur on Illinois restaurant premises. Restaurant owners have a duty of reasonable care to their customers, and nobody wants their evening out spoiled by a disaster because of negligence on the part of a restaurant owner. But because injuries do sometimes occur at restaurants, the injured party should always consider learning about their legal options with an experienced Illinois personal injury attorney.

What Is a Duty of Reasonable Care?

No matter the type of business, Illinois law requires property owners and businesses to provide a safe environment for visitors, guests, and customers. This is called a duty of reasonable care and business owners can exercise their duty of reasonable care by posting warnings about the danger (such as wet floor pylons) and ensuring proper maintenance.

Three conditions must be met in order for a business to be held liable (or responsible) for the injury of a patron on the premises:

A fatal crash involving two semi-trucks on I-294 Tri-State Tollway occurred at the beginning of July when one truck stopped due to construction and was rear-ended by another semi that failed to stop. The first driver went to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, but the driver of the second truck was pronounced dead at the scene.

Although this particular accident involved two semi-trucks, passenger vehicles driving on I-294 are also at significant risk from truck accidents. The disparity in size between a truck and a car is substantial and is a major factor in the high rates of serious injury and death resulting from these kinds of accidents.

What Are Common Causes of Semi-truck Accidents?

Investigations of semi-truck accidents with other trucks and passenger vehicles show they are caused by several common factors. Unfortunately, most of these factors are predictable and avoidable, and include: