What to Look for in a Nursing Home Abuse Attorney

People often contact us asking what they should look for in a nursing home lawyer. Most importantly, we recommend someone that focuses their practice on nursing home malpractice lawsuits in Illinois. The area of nursing home abuse can be complex. It is in your best interest to be represented by an attorney who deals with these kinds of cases on a daily basis and as the main part of their practice. You want someone who focuses in this area and has had at least 10 years of experience.

Equally important as having years of experience handling cases involving nursing home abuse, is making sure your nursing home abuse attorney has the necessary skill-set and to handle your case successfully. For example, some nursing home abuse attorneys have had success dealing with wrongful death claims, while others have had success dealing with bedsores claims. Unless your case is extremely unique, you don’t want the attorney you hire to be learning on the job.

Oftentimes, you will meet with the partner of the firm but a more junior associate will actually handle your case. Because nursing home abuse is a complex area of law, it is ok to insist that only the partner and a senior associate, who you have also met, work on your case or at least that they be the ones primarily handling the matter. Don’t let yourself in to a situation where your case is tried by someone who has only done that a handful of times.

Your nursing home abuse attorney should work on a contingency basis, meaning you do not have to pay any money up front. If your case wins your attorney receives a certain percentage, typically 1/3, of what you recover. If your case loses, the attorney is paid nothing. Do not hire a nursing home abuse attorney that won’t work on a contingency basis or tries to get you to pay money upfront to cover costs.

It is important that your lawyer has connections to top doctors that help in reviewing the potential case. The firms we recommend have connections to top doctors and typically have licensed nurse paralegals on their staff.

It is also very important that your elder abuse attorney can communicate well with you. You are the client, and the lawyer should always take or promptly return your calls, emails, or to meet you in person. Your attorney should always keep you updated on any changes or major developments in your case. If your attorney is so swamped that he or she doesn’t have time to respond to your correspondence in a timely manner, then it may be time to seek other representation.

These are just some of the traits that we look for before we recommend an Illinois nursing home abuse attorney or law firm. There is no such thing as the best nursing home abuse lawyer, but rather we try to help you locate the best Illinois attorney for your needs. Please contact us if you have any questions or would like a referral to an experienced Illinois nursing home abuse attorney.