More than 1.6 Americans reside in nursing homes. While nursing homes provide care to those who require assistance, they can also be dangerous. It is estimated that approximately half of all nursing home residents suffer at least one fall a year. About a third of residents suffer multiple falls in a year. Sadly, the consequences of falls in older adults can be significant. The nursing home may be held responsible if their actions or inactions were negligent and resulted in serious injuries. A knowledgeable personal injury attorney will help you seek compensation for nursing home injuries.
What Causes Nursing Home Falls?
There are many factors that may cause or contribute to falls in nursing homes. Some of the most common causes of nursing home falls include:
- Understaffing
- Poor management
- Improper facility maintenance
- Inadequate training
- Unprofessional care
- Poor Safety Standards
When a nursing home fails to provide proper care and a resident falls, the nursing home may be held liable for the damages. Damages may include medical costs as well as pain and suffering, among other things.
Injuries Caused by Nursing Home Falls
Falls can cause a variety of injuries, ranging from minor bruises to more serious injuries. Some of the most common types of injuries include broken bones, contusions, lacerations, sprains or strains, head injuries, neck and back injuries, and spinal injuries. Older individuals or those with previous mobility issues may be unable to catch themselves in a fall, and therefore, the resulting injuries are more serious than they would be for a younger person. An older person may also have weak bones, which could break more easily in a fall.
Can a Nursing Home Fall Be Fatal?
In some cases, a fall may lead to a fatality. Unfortunately, what may begin as a relatively minor injury could become much more serious in older individuals. For example, a broken hip may require surgery and a lengthy recovery period. During the recovery, the patient may face declining health issues. Other times, a fall could result in a traumatic head injury, which may be disabling. The nursing home staff must immediately seek medical attention for any fall. The failure to do so could be considered negligence.
Negligence in Nursing Home Falls
In order for the nursing home to be held responsible for a fall, they must be found negligent. Negligence is the failure to act with the level of care that a reasonable person would have used under the same circumstances. Healthcare professionals and nursing homes are held to a higher standard of care than others because of their specific education, training, and experience in the medical field. A nursing home could be negligent, for example, if a staff member did not provide assistance to a resident and the person fell and hurt themselves as a result. Negligence may include actions or the failure to act.
If a loved one was injured as the result of a fall in a nursing home, you may be owed compensation for their injuries. Contact us at Arnold & Smith, PLLC, at (704) 370-2828 to discuss the situation with our legal team.
The skilled personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to maximizing the financial recovery and obtaining justice for every personal injury client injured by another party’s negligence. The issues our personal injury clients may be facing include, but are not limited to, slip and fall injuries, wrongful death, product liability, catastrophic injuries, dog bite claims, car and truck accident injuries, motorcycle injuries, traumatic brain injury (TBI), nursing home negligence, spinal cord injury, boating accidents, and defective medical device injury. Our personal injury attorneys understand the devastating impact such an injury can have on a person’s life, and that the effects so often go beyond physical pain and suffering. The personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to helping clients determine the strength of their claims, and to aggressively pursuing the means necessary to achieve the best possible end result for each client’s particular situation.
Source:
Image Credit:
https://www.freeimages.com/photo/thb0007676-1986827
See Our Related Video from our YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/ArnoldSmithPLLC/videos
See Our Related Blog Posts:
What is Nursing Home Neglect?