Illinois Nursing Home Breathing Tube Injury Lawyers

Breathing tubes, such as endotracheal intubation devices or tracheostomy tubes, can be life-saving for nursing home residents who cannot breathe on their own. But when nursing home staff fail to properly place, monitor, or maintain these tubes, the consequences can be catastrophic. In Illinois, breathing tube injuries in long-term care settings are increasingly recognized as grounds for nursing home negligence and abuse claims.

At John J. Malm & Associates, we are dedicated to protecting some of the most vulnerable members of our community: nursing home residents and their families. With offices in Naperville and St. Charles, our firm has built a reputation for successfully handling complex nursing home negligence and abuse cases, including those involving life-threatening breathing tube injuries. Our team of experienced Illinois nursing home abuse lawyers understands the devastating impact that improper medical care can have on residents and their loved ones, and we are committed to holding negligent facilities accountable while pursuing the justice and compensation our clients deserve.

“Breathing tube complications in nursing homes are often hidden in the medical records, unless families and attorneys dig in early, critical evidence of neglect or delay is lost forever. At John J. Malm & Associates, we help families uncover the truth and get the justice they deserve.” – John J. Malm, Naperville nursing home neglect attorney

What Are Breathing Tubes and Why Are They Used in Nursing Homes?

Breathing tubes are medical devices inserted into a patient’s airway to assist or secure breathing. In nursing homes, breathing tubes are often used for residents who have respiratory failure, neurological conditions, or who cannot protect their own airway. Key types include:

• Endotracheal tubes (ETTs) inserted through the mouth or nose into the trachea
• Tracheostomy tubes placed through a surgically created opening in the neck to access the airway directly
• Mechanical ventilators or ventilator support systems, which deliver air or oxygen via breathing tubes

In many cases, breathing tubes are necessary for life support. But because they interfere with natural airway defense mechanisms (like coughing) and require skilled care to maintain airway hygiene, they also carry significant risk when not managed correctly.

How Breathing Tube Injuries Happen in Nursing Homes

Breathing tube injuries in long-term care facilities often stem from errors or neglect in insertion, maintenance, monitoring, or cleaning. Common breakdowns include:

• Improper insertion or placement of a tube, which can cause damage to the trachea, vocal cords, or airway lining, or lead to a pneumothorax (air leak in the chest cavity).
• Tube dislodgement or unplanned extubation: If a tube becomes dislodged, either because it was not secured properly or because the resident pulled it out, oxygen delivery may stop, choking may occur, or emergency reintubation may be required.
• Clogged or obstructed breathing tubes: Secretions, mucus, food, or other materials can clog the tube if not regularly suctioned or cleaned. A clogged tube can block airflow, cause hypoxia (lack of oxygen), choking, and even brain injury or death.
• Infections, including ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP): If the tube isn’t cleaned properly or if suctioning isn’t done correctly, bacteria can enter the lungs, causing infections like pneumonia, sepsis, and respiratory distress.
• Suctioning-related complications: Suctioning is essential to clear secretions, but it can also result in hypoxemia (low blood oxygen), bronchospasm, airway trauma, or cardiac problems if done improperly.
• Poor monitoring or delayed response: If nursing home staff fail to notice signs that a tube is blocked, dislodged, or causing distress, or if they delay responding to respiratory distress, the resident may suffer oxygen deprivation, brain damage, or death.

The risk is especially high for residents with cognitive impairment, swallowing difficulties, or who may deliberately or unintentionally remove their breathing tubes.

How Dangerous are Breathing Tube Injuries?

Mortality and recovery challenges

• One source analyzing more than 35,000 intubation cases in older adults found that one-third of patients over 65 died after being placed on a ventilator, and only 25% ever left the hospital.
• Another older study of long-term ventilated patients showed that a large percentage died during their hospital stay; survivors often required prolonged institutional care.
• Ventilator-dependent residents face high rates of functional decline, infections, and long-term dependency on care.

Complication rates

• A study from University of New Hampshire showed complication rates for tracheostomy and ventilator-dependent patients vary widely, with tracheostomy complication rates in long-term care settings estimated between 3.2% and 30%.
• Patients on ventilators are at increased risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia and other respiratory infections, especially when care protocols are lacking or not followed rigorously.

Vulnerable populations

• Nursing home residents who require ventilator support or breathing tubes are often frail, have multiple other medical conditions, and may have impaired cognition or swallowing reflexes—all of which increase their risk of tube-related injury, aspiration, or choking.
• Cognitive impairment, such as dementia, significantly raises the risk that a resident will attempt to pull out a breathing tube, which means staff supervision is critically important.

When Can a Nursing Home Be Held Responsible For a Breathing Tube Injury?

In Illinois, nursing homes and long-term care facilities have a legal duty to provide adequate, supervised, and skilled nursing care to residents, including those with breathing tubes. When they fail to do so and harm results, families may bring negligence or medical malpractice claims under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act and other statutes.

Key legal theories in breathing tube injury cases include:

• Failure to monitor a resident who is known or should be known to remove or tamper with breathing tubes, especially when cognitive impairment or agitation is documented. The facility may be liable if it fails to supervise or protect the resident from self-harm.
• Improper care, maintenance, or suctioning of the breathing tube or tracheostomy site, including failure to follow care protocols, failure to clean or change equipment, or failure to detect blockage or infection in a timely way.
• Failure to respond to emergencies such as tube clogging, dislodgement, respiratory distress, or signs of hypoxia. Delayed or inadequate response may turn an otherwise treatable situation into a catastrophic injury.
• Inadequate risk assessment or care planning under Illinois law. Facilities are expected to assess residents’ risks (such as risk of removing tubes) on admission and over time, and to implement individualized care plans that anticipate and mitigate those risks. Failing to update care plans or monitor risk can be a basis for liability.
• Staff training and staffing levels. A facility may be held liable if it failed to provide staff with proper training, or if staffing was insufficient to provide appropriate breathing tube care, monitoring, and emergency response.

Illinois courts have recognized that breathing tube injuries can constitute serious medical malpractice or neglect when the facility promises care, including care of tubes, and fails to provide it.

Signs of a Breathing Tube Injury

Recognizing warning signs of breathing tube injury or inadequate care is critical to protecting residents. Families and advocates should watch for:

• Changes in respiratory status, labored or noisy breathing, coughing, wheezing, or increased respiratory effort
• Episodes of choking, gagging, or mucus buildup, especially if suctioning appears delayed or ineffective
• Sudden or unexplained drops in oxygen saturation, cyanosis (bluish skin or lips), or shortness of breath
• Swelling, redness, or irritation around a tracheostomy site or tube insertion site
• Signs of infection: fever, increased secretions, foul-smelling mucus, or new respiratory congestion
• Resident agitation, confusion, or attempts to pull at tubes, especially in residents with dementia or cognitive impairment
• Delayed staff response to respiratory distress, tube blockage, or choking episodes
• Gaps in documentation or a lack of documented tube checks, suctioning logs, or care-plan updates

These signs may reflect underlying injuries, such as hypoxia, airway trauma, infection, or aspiration, or may indicate neglect or a failure to monitor and respond appropriately.

What Legal Steps Families Should Take If a Breathing Tube Injury is Suspected

If you suspect that a loved one in a nursing home has been harmed due to a breathing tube injury, or that a tube-related injury was caused or worsened by negligent care, there are several important steps you should take:

1. Obtain and preserve medical records and nursing home documentation, including admission assessments, care plans, suctioning records, tube maintenance logs, and incident reports.
2. Document the timeline of respiratory distress, choking episodes, coughing or gagging, tube blockage, or any staff response (or lack thereof).
3. Take photographs (if possible) of the tracheostomy site, tube condition, and any signs of irritation or injury, as well as notes of staff response times.
4. Seek a thorough medical evaluation to assess the injury, treatment, and possible causes, ideally by a specialist familiar with airway and respiratory device complications.
5. Request incident or adverse event reports from the nursing home, especially if staff documented or responded to choking, tube dislodgement, or respiratory emergencies.
6. Preserve witness statements: this may include other residents, visiting family members, or staff who observed choking, tube issues, or delays in treatment.
7. File a report or complaint with the Illinois Department of Public Health.
8. Consult with an experienced Illinois nursing home injury attorney: these cases often require investigation into standard of care, identification of staff failures, and expert testimony to determine whether and how negligence occurred.
9. Act promptly, because Illinois law imposes time limits for filing lawsuits against nursing homes, and because evidence (such as documentation or video) may be lost if not preserved.

Frequently Asked Questions About Breathing Tube Injuries in Nursing Homes

Q: Can a resident pull out their own breathing tube, and is that negligence?
A: Yes, residents, especially those with dementia or cognitive impairment, can and do sometimes pull out their own tubes (a process known as self-extubation). Whether that constitutes negligence by the nursing home depends on whether the facility knew or should have known the patient was at risk and whether proper supervision and preventative measures were in place. Under Illinois law, a facility may be liable if it failed to identify the resident’s risk or failed to take appropriate steps to prevent device tampering.

Q: What is unplanned extubation and how common is it?
A: Unplanned extubation refers to the removal of an endotracheal tube at an inappropriate time, either accidentally, by staff error, or by the resident. Estimates in intensive care units vary widely, but rates in critical care settings have been reported between 3.4% and 22.5%. These events often necessitate re-intubation and can increase the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Q: What kinds of injuries can breathing tube complications cause?
A: Depending on how the tube was placed, maintained, or monitored, injuries may include:

• Tracheal or airway injury, vocal cord damage, or granulomas
• Pneumothorax (air leakage into the chest cavity)
• Hypoxia or brain injury due to lack of oxygen
• Severe infection, pneumonia, or sepsis
• Aspiration of fluids or food into the lungs
• Death, in catastrophic cases

Q: How long do I have to file a lawsuit if I think a nursing home caused breathing tube injuries?
A: Illinois has time limits (statutes of limitations) for nursing home negligence and medical malpractice claims. The exact deadline can depend on where and how the injury happened and the type of claim being filed. Because breathing tube injury cases often involve medical records and expert proof, it’s critical to consult a knowledgeable Illinois nursing home neglect and abuse attorney as soon as possible to ensure your legal rights are protected.

Q: Can I get compensation for my loved one’s breathing tube injury even if they were very sick before entering the nursing home?
A: Possibly. A nursing home can be held responsible for negligent breathing tube care even if a resident was already frail or sick, so long as the facility’s negligence or delay made an injury worse, or caused a preventable complication. To recover compensation, it must be shown that the facility’s negligence was a contributing cause of the injury or harm. Pre-existing conditions and the resident’s prior health will be considered, but they do not necessarily bar a claim. Expert medical testimony is often needed to untangle how much of the injury was due to neglect versus underlying illness.

Contact the Award-Winning Illinois Nursing Home Breathing Tube Injury Lawyers at John J. Malm & Associates

Breathing tube care is complex and demands vigilant, skilled nursing care. When nursing homes fail to properly insert, monitor, suction, or respond to complications of breathing tubes, especially for residents with cognitive impairments, tragic and preventable injuries often result. Families should take note of warning signs, preserve medical and facility records, and seek prompt legal advice when breathing tube complications occur.

At John J. Malm & Associates,we have extensive experience investigating breathing tube injury and nursing home negligence cases. If you believe your loved one’s respiratory injury, brain damage, infection, or choking episode was caused or worsened by inadequate breathing tube care, contact us for a free consultation. Our top-rated Illinois nursing home injury attorneys will review medical and nursing home records, interview care staff, consult medical experts, and help you understand whether you have a viable claim to hold negligent facilities accountable and pursue compensation for your family’s losses.