You Trusted Them With Your Parent. Something Isn’t Right.
If your mother, father or spouse is being neglected or hurt in an Illinois nursing home or long-term care facility, you do not have to sort it out alone. Marker Law helps families get the records, read what the state inspectors already found, and hold the facility accountable.
Families Almost Always Notice First.
Nobody from the facility calls to say your father is not being turned, or that the aide who used to know him by name left three months ago and was never replaced. What happens is quieter than that. You visit and the room smells different. He is thinner. There is a bruise, and the story about how he got it changes depending on who you ask. You start to wonder whether you are overreacting.
You are usually not. Marker Law listens first, then helps you take the steps that actually get answers — requesting the chart, pulling the state’s inspection history for that facility, and putting your questions in writing so there is a record of them. If what we find points to neglect or abuse, the legal side is spelled out on our nursing home negligence page.
- A free, unhurried conversation — before you decide anything
- Help requesting your loved one’s records from the facility
- Review of the facility’s public state inspection and survey findings
- Straight answers about whether there is a case — including when there is not
- No fee unless we recover for you, and no bill for the consultation
The Things That Made You Start Worrying
None of these prove neglect on their own. Together, or repeating month after month, they are worth asking about.
Falls that keep happening
One fall can happen to anyone. A second and a third usually mean the care plan was never updated, or that nobody was there when the call light went on.
Bedsores that get worse
Pressure sores develop when a resident is not repositioned and monitored. A sore that deepens, opens or gets infected while under a facility’s care is worth asking hard questions about.
Weight loss and dehydration
Trays collected untouched, meals nobody helped with, water pitchers left across the room. It shows up as a parent who is visibly smaller every time you visit.
Injuries nobody can explain
Bruises, skin tears, a fractured wrist — and three different accounts of how it happened, none of them in the chart.
A change in who they are
Withdrawal, fear around a particular staff member, agitation, or a sudden refusal to talk about the day. Residents who cannot easily speak up often show it this way instead.
A facility that feels short-staffed
Call lights ringing down the hall, soiled clothing, new faces every week, and staff who cannot tell you who is caring for your parent today.
What To Do First
Before anyone talks about a lawsuit, do these. They protect your loved one and they preserve the record.
1. Make sure they are safe
Care comes before anything else. If there is an injury or a sudden change, insist your loved one is seen by a doctor — and that the visit is documented.
2. Write it down, with dates
Keep a simple running note: what you saw, when you saw it, who you spoke to and what they said. Memory fades; a dated log does not.
3. Photograph what you can
Wounds, bruises, the condition of the room, an unanswered call light. Photos with a date on them are some of the most useful evidence families bring us.
4. Ask in writing
Put your questions to the facility in writing and keep a copy. It gets you a clearer answer, and it creates a record that the concern was raised.
5. Request the records
A resident, or the person legally authorized to act for them, has the right to see and get copies of the resident’s records under Illinois law. Ask for the full chart, not a summary.
6. Look up the inspections
Illinois nursing homes are licensed and inspected by the Illinois Department of Public Health, and the findings are public. Prior citations for the same problem matter.
Calling Us Does Not Commit You to Anything
Most families who call are not sure they have a case. That is exactly the right time to call.
The consultation is free
There is no bill for the phone call, no charge for a review of what you have, and no obligation to hire us afterward.
No recovery, no fee
Cases are handled on contingency. You pay us nothing unless we recover for you, so what your family can afford is never the deciding factor.
We will come to you
If getting to Naperville is not realistic — and with a parent in a facility it often is not — a Marker Law attorney will come to you. Someone answers the phone 24/7.
How We Handle Cases Like Yours
The legal frameworks Marker Law uses for clients in your situation.
Nursing Home Negligence
Residents’ rights under Illinois law, understaffing, falls, pressure sores and abuse — the legal detail behind everything on this page.
Learn more →Personal Injury
The broader Illinois injury claim — medical costs, care going forward, and the harm itself.
Learn more →Wrongful Death
When a family loses someone in a facility’s care, we handle the case with the patience and transparency that deserves.
Learn more →Frequently Asked Questions
Straightforward answers to the questions Marker Law clients ask most often about this topic.
We Care & Want to Listen. It’s FREE.
Tell us what happened. We want to help, and there is never a fee for a consult with us.