How Long Does a Nursing Home Lawsuit Take in Chicago?

“How long does a nursing home lawsuit take?” is a common question among people considering taking legal action against a nursing home due to the harm suffered by a loved one. On average, nursing home lawsuits take 18 to 24 months to reach a settlement or verdict. Several factors can make the timeline for nursing home lawsuits vary. The personal injury lawyers at DePaolo & Zadeikis can help you address these issues in Chicago. Call us at 312-263-7560 to discuss your case.

Reports have shown that abuse and neglect in nursing homes are under-reported. This shows the importance of filing nursing home lawsuits to create awareness and encourage reforms in the long-term care industry.

How Does Filing a Lawsuit Work in Illinois?

To understand how long a nursing home lawsuit takes, it’s important to first learn more about what filing such a lawsuit entails. Victims of nursing home neglect, mistreatment, or abuse and their families can take legal action by filing a lawsuit to hold the at-fault facility or its staff members accountable. Nursing home lawsuits help seniors and their families get financial compensation and justice and encourage changes to prevent others from being harmed.

To initiate a nursing home lawsuit, you’ll first need to consult a personal injury lawyer. Personal injury lawyers usually offer a free initial consultation where they get to interview you and obtain information. The lawyer will gather the facts of your case and collect the necessary evidence. Your lawyer will then file a lawsuit with the appropriate court and serve the nursing home with an official notice.

How Long Does the Nursing Home Have to Respond to Allegations?

The defendant is given a designated period, typically about three to four weeks, to respond to allegations after being served with the lawsuit. Failure to respond could lead to the nursing home losing the case automatically in a default judgment.

After the lawsuit has been filed, your lawyer and the lawyers of the parties named in the suit will engage in the discovery process. In the discovery stage, both sides get information from each other to strengthen their cases. The parties can reach a settlement through negotiations or present the case to a judge or jury at trial if they can’t agree upon a settlement.

Factors That Can Affect the Length of a Nursing Home Lawsuit in Chicago

The main factors that can influence how long a lawsuit takes include:

Complexity of the Case

If your case involves complex legal and medical issues, such as severe injuries, many witnesses, witnesses who moved and are hard to locate, and the need for extensive evidence collection, additional time could be required for analysis and research. This could prolong a nursing home lawsuit. For instance, cases involving life-threatening injuries and wrongful death usually last longer than those involving milder injuries.

The Discovery Process

The discovery process can be exceedingly tedious and time-consuming. The responsible parties could respond sluggishly to requests. Finding the right expert witness to substantiate your claims could also take time.

Whether the Case Settles or Goes to Trial

If a case can’t be settled and goes to trial, it may take much longer for a verdict to be reached than the duration it would have taken to resolve the case through an out-of-court settlement.

Settlement Negotiations

Nursing home lawsuits in Chicago and the rest of Illinois are often resolved through settlements. The nursing home or its insurance company may offer a settlement, or the plaintiff may send a demand letter to the nursing home outlining the desired compensation amount. The nursing home can accept the plaintiff’s demand or counter it by offering a different monetary amount. The plaintiff can accept, reject, or counter the settlement offer provided. These negotiations can go back and forth and often extend over several weeks or months. The factors that affect the settlement negotiation timeline include:

• The willingness of the parties to cooperate: The more the willing the parties involved to engage in settlement discussions, the quicker the progression of the settlement process. When one party is uncooperative, that could lengthen the time taken to reach a settlement agreement.
• Strength of the evidence: When you build your case carefully and gather strong evidence, a nursing home will be more likely to make a fair settlement offer. The nursing home or its insurance company may settle your claim much more quickly to avoid going to trial and risking high litigation costs and jury verdicts.

When both sides agree to a settlement amount after negotiations, the case will close. A settlement agreement will be drafted, and you’ll receive financial compensation as per the agreed amount. After your case settles, you can’t sue the nursing home to seek additional damages for the same incident.

Your Attorney Can Negotiate With the Nursing Home’s Legal Team

Settlement negotiations require a good understanding of federal and state laws pertaining to nursing home neglect and abuse cases and the rights of victims, careful preparation, effective communication, and persistence. An experienced personal injury attorney will know how to navigate the settlement process efficiently and negotiate with the nursing facility’s defense team without backing down until your damages are adequately compensated. The attorney can help expedite the negotiation process and reach a settlement agreement faster.

Having as much concrete evidence of neglect or abuse as possible gives you more leverage in settlement negotiations. Personal injury lawyers thoroughly investigate nursing home injury cases and gather evidence to support neglect and abuse claims. The evidence includes video surveillance, witness testimony, medical records, and other relevant documentation that validates a victim’s allegations. Personal injury lawyers also work with other professionals to establish the negligence that led to a victim’s injuries.

With detailed investigations and strong evidence, a personal injury lawyer can convince a nursing home’s legal team that they’ll likely lose if the case proceeds to court. A lawyer may, therefore, compel the nursing home to make a reasonable settlement offer more quickly to protect its bottom line and avoid losing in court and being hit with significant damages.

A personal injury attorney will assess and add up all your damages, including economic and non-economic losses. That helps determine the type of settlement that would cover all your losses from the harm done by the nursing home. Your attorney will carefully evaluate any proposed settlements to decide whether they compensate you adequately and negotiate a better settlement amount justified by evidence proving the abuse or neglect suffered and your injuries and losses.

Remember, there are time limits for filing nursing home abuse and neglect cases in Illinois. As a result, it’s essential to consult with your Chicago personal injury lawyer as soon as you suspect neglect or abuse may have led to a loved one’s injuries.

How to Prepare for the Initial Consultation With Your Attorney

During the initial nursing home case consultation, a personal injury attorney will evaluate the details of your case and discuss your legal options, the basic legal concepts applicable, the possible outcome of the case, and the next steps to take. Your attorney will need to ask you questions to learn more facts about your case. You’ll also get a chance to ask the attorney questions. It’s crucial to attend the consultation well-prepared.

Gather and organize any necessary information and documentation about your loved one and the incident of abuse or neglect. You should also have details of the act of neglect or abuse you suspect occurred, the parties you believe inflicted the harm, the date of the incident, the information the facility gave after the incident, and if it took any action to address the event.

Questions to Ask During Your Consultation

What Are the Warning Signs of Neglect and Abuse?

Victims of nursing home neglect usually exhibit changes in their behavior and personality and other warning signs, some of which can be confusing and difficult to spot. It’s essential to know the normal signs of aging and signs of nursing home neglect and abuse.

Have You Handled Similar Cases to Mine?

Success in Chicago nursing home cases requires knowledge of medical issues as well as federal and Illinois nursing home laws. Make sure the attorney has successfully handled several nursing home cases in the past. Also, check that the attorney has taken cases to trial. You should work with an attorney who isn’t afraid to take cases to court when necessary to achieve the most favorable outcome for his or her client.

How Much Do You Charge?

The best personal injury lawyers take nursing home cases on a contingency basis. They don’t charge upfront fees and get paid when they successfully obtain a settlement or verdict for their clients. Your lawyer should clearly explain his or her fee structure and any other costs that could arise during the various legal processes.

If you have questions about nursing home lawsuits in Chicago, our experienced personal injury lawyers at DePaolo & Zadeikis will be glad to answer them. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.