What Is a Nursing Home Wrongful Death Claim?

 Posted on October 23, 2025 in Wrongful Death

A wrongful death claim is a civil lawsuit you can file when negligence causes a nursing home resident’s death. In nursing homes, this often involves medical errors, poor supervision, and other violations of the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act.

Wrongful death cases are not about placing a dollar value on the life of someone you love. They are about accountability. Families can recover damages for funeral costs, medical expenses, loss of companionship, and emotional distress. Just as importantly, these claims can expose dangerous practices and pressure nursing homes to improve their care. Our Cook County nursing home death attorney can help you move forward.

What Are the Most Common Causes of Wrongful Death in Nursing Homes?

Nursing home deaths can result from many different types of neglect or misconduct, but some causes appear more frequently in legal claims and state investigations:

• Falls: Many residents are frail and need help walking. Without proper supervision, grab bars, or fall-prevention measures, a single fall can cause fatal head or hip injuries.

• Medication errors: Staff may give the wrong drug, give the wrong dosage, or fail to monitor reactions. These mistakes can lead to poisoning, stroke, or cardiac arrest.

• Infections: Untreated infections like sepsis, pneumonia, or urinary tract infections can quickly become deadly when staff ignore early warning signs.

• Malnutrition and dehydration: Residents who are not properly fed or hydrated can suffer organ failure and a rapid decline in overall health.

• Bedsores (pressure ulcers): Sores caused by unrelieved pressure are preventable. Left untreated, they can lead to deadly infections and sepsis.

• Physical abuse: Tragically, some deaths result from intentional violence or restraint misuse by staff or other residents.

• Lack of medical care: Delays in calling 911 or failing to transfer a resident to a hospital in time can also cause wrongful deaths.

Each of these situations reflects inadequate staffing, training, or supervision. All of these problems are ultimately the responsibility of the facility and its management.

What Does a Lawyer Do in a Nursing Home Wrongful Death Case? 

Wrongful death cases in nursing homes require careful investigation. Attorneys look at a patient’s medical records, plus the nursing home staff logs, to see if there is a pattern of neglect. When necessary, they work with experts in medicine, nursing, and long-term care to determine how the death happened and whether it could have been prevented.

Insurance companies that represent nursing homes try to reduce claims or deny responsibility. A good attorney knows how to fight these tactics with evidence.

Contact a Cook County, IL Nursing Home Wrongful Death Attorney

If you believe your loved one’s death resulted from nursing home negligence, contact an Arlington Heights, IL nursing home death lawyer at Adler Injury Law, Ltd.. Our firm offers free consultations and fights aggressively against insurance companies to help families get justice. Call 312-236-2700 to learn how we can help.