Resources for Families
If you suspect nursing home neglect, here is where to start
A practical guide for families: how to recognize neglect, what to document, where to report, and when to call a lawyer. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
01 - warning signs
Recognizing neglect.
Nursing home and assisted-living neglect often shows up in patterns rather than a single incident. Watch for any of the following, especially in combination:
❖ Pressure injuries (bedsores) — particularly on the heels, tailbone, hips, or shoulders. Stage 3 or 4 sores are rarely the result of one bad week.
❖ Unexplained falls — especially if your loved one was assessed as a fall risk and the facility’s care plan was not followed.
❖ Rapid weight loss or dehydration — often a sign of inadequate feeding or fluid intake.
❖ Medication errors — missed doses, wrong doses, or sudden new sedatives that were not authorized.
❖ Recurrent infections — urinary tract infections, sepsis, or skin infections that keep coming back.
❖ Bruising or injuries with shifting explanations — especially in patterns that don’t match a fall.
❖ Sudden mood, behavior, or cognition changes — withdrawal, fear of certain staff, or unexplained agitation.
❖ Soiled clothing, bedding, or rooms — signs that personal care isn’t happening on the schedule the chart says it is.
❖ Facility understaffing — long call-light waits, frequent agency or float staff, no consistent CNA assignment
02 - What to Document
If you suspect neglect, start writing it down
The single most useful thing a family can do is keep a contemporaneous record. Memories blur. Charts get rewritten. Your timeline, kept day by day, can become the spine of a case.
❖ Dates, times, and names. Every visit, every call, who you spoke with, what you observed.
❖ Photographs. Visible injuries (with dates), soiled conditions, the room, the meal tray, the call-light response time.
❖ Care plan and changes to it. Ask for a copy. Note who signed it and when.
❖ Medication list. What was prescribed, what was actually administered, any changes.
❖ Staffing levels you witnessed. How many residents per CNA. How long it took to answer a call light.
❖ Communication with the facility. Save emails, texts, and the names of any administrators or DONs you spoke with.
❖ Hospital records. If your loved one was transferred to a hospital, request the records — ER notes often contradict what the facility documented.
03 - How to Report
By state
Each state has its own complaint hotline and ombudsman program. Reporting creates an independent record that exists outside the facility’s own files.
WISCONSIN
Division of Quality Assurance
Complaint Hotline:
(800) 642-6552
Board on Aging & Long-Term Care Ombudsman: (800) 815-0015
Illinois
Central Complaint Registry
Hotline: (800) 252-4343
Long-Term Care Ombudsman
Program: (800) 252-8966
New Mexico
Division of Health Improvement
Complaints: (800) 752-8649
Aging & Long-Term Services
Ombudsman: (866) 451-2901
Texas
Complaint & Incident Intake
Hotline: (800) 458-9858
Long-Term Care Ombudsman
Program: (800) 252-2412
If your loved one is in immediate danger, call 911 first. The numbers above are for non-emergency complaints, investigations, and ombudsman assistance.
04 - Federal Resources
Tools that work in every state.
❖ CMS Care Compare — medicare.gov/care-compare. Look up any Medicare/Medicaid-certified nursing home: overall star rating, staffing, health inspections, fines, and the official survey reports.
❖ Nursing Home Inspection Reports (Form 2567) — available through Care Compare. The deficiencies cited by state surveyors are the same documents the defense will eventually have to address in litigation.
❖ Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program — ltcombudsman.org. Independent advocates who can investigate complaints and help families navigate facility responses.
❖ Eldercare Locator — (800) 677-1116 or eldercare.acl.gov. Connects you to local Area Agencies on Aging.
❖ National Center on Elder Abuse — ncea.acl.gov. Information, research, and reporting resources.
05 - When to Call a Lawyer
You don’t have to know the answer to call
Many families wait because they are unsure whether what they are seeing rises to the level of a case. A short conversation with a lawyer who handles these matters every day is free and confidential. It costs you nothing to learn whether the facts justify a deeper look.
Consider calling sooner rather than later if any of the following are true:
❖ A loved one has died in a facility and the cause was unexpected or unclear.
❖ A pressure injury has progressed to a stage 3 or 4, or has become infected.
❖ A fall has resulted in a fracture, head injury, or hospitalization.
❖ The facility’s explanations have changed or do not match what you have witnessed.
❖ Records are slow to be produced, or what is produced does not match the care that was promised.
❖ You sense that you are being managed rather than informed.
Statutes of limitation vary by state — in some jurisdictions, the window to file is as short as one to two years. The sooner a case can be evaluated, the more options remain available.
DIGNITY
DIGNIDAD
The Spanish word carries weight the English one has lost. It is the standard the firm prepares to — for the injured person, for the family, and for the room the case will eventually be tried in.