Can I Sue For A Nursing Home Fall?

Nursing homes should take measures to prevent residents from falling. Elderly people are at a heightened risk of falls for a variety of reasons, from muscle weakness to mobility issues. When they do fall, even from a standing position, they could suffer devastating injuries such as head injuries or broken bones. If your loved one fell in a nursing home due to the negligence of staff, you may be able to sue for compensation.

Reddick Law provides legal counsel to family members of elderly people injured in nursing home falls. Our experienced lawyers in Santa Fe, Denver and Little Rock have helped families nationwide recover $1 billion in compensation to provide their elderly loved ones with the justice they deserve.

How To Determine If An Elderly Person Is A Fall Risk

Elderly people tend to be more prone to falling. Beyond that, if an elderly person has fallen previously, they should be considered at greater risk of future falls. In fact, a fall is often the incident that prompts a family to have an elderly loved one move into a nursing home, assisted living facility or similar facility, so the staff should be taking this history seriously and providing the necessary protections to prevent future falls. Further, residents with mobility issues, balance issues or who have trouble standing up or sitting down should be looked at as a fall risk and provided the necessary protections.

Nursing Home Falling Injuries And Your Right To Compensation

Falls can have life-changing consequences, particularly when sustained by elderly individuals. Statistically, senior citizens account for a higher risk of severe injury or death against other age groups after a fall.

Twenty to 30% of falls suffered by Americans over 60 years of age result in severe injuries, ranging from head trauma to broken bones or even death. If your parent or grandparent has become part of such statistics, we strive to obtain the compensation required to cover their medical and long-term care needs.

The most common and severe injuries experienced include:

• Hip fractures, which might lead to hospitalization
• Ankle, arm or wrist fractures that could turn into incapacitating injuries
• Head injuries, which could prove fatal if, for example, an individual takes blood thinners
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) that require expensive and long-term treatment
• Traumatic spinal injuries that could cause pain or paralysis

After a fall in a nursing home, the injured individual might call for help. However, it is a sad reality that some institutions are understaffed. Without the required assistance, injuries sustained could further complicate as the person may try to stand up on their own.

Can Nursing Home Falls Lead To Death?

While younger people may be able to stand up immediately after a slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall, elderly people may not bounce back so quickly. Elderly people are more likely to be injured in a fall. Worse yet, elderly people have a more difficult time recovering from injuries, even injuries that might be considered relatively minor for younger people such as fractures. An injury like a broken hip may lead to complications which in turn can lead to death. If the fall itself is severe enough, it could cause a head injury that is immediately fatal.

Falls can lead to death in nursing home residents, which should be all the more reason for nursing homes to take fall prevention protocols seriously.

Falling Out Of Bed In Nursing Homes

Nursing home falls come in many forms. Residents may fall in the bathroom, fall out of a wheelchair or simply just fall while trying to walk. One of the more common and easily preventable types of nursing home falls is falls from beds. These may be the result of the resident moving in their sleep or becoming disoriented and trying to get out of bed on their own, among other reasons.

Nursing homes should be using bed rails to prevent residents from falling out of beds, particularly if the resident is at a greater risk of falling. If a resident fell because the nursing home staff failed to put the bed rails up before leaving the resident alone or failed to use bed rails altogether, that may be a sign that nursing home staff was negligent and there may be a claim.

Free Evaluation Of Nursing Home Fall Claims

Call Reddick Law at 877-930-2080 or fill out our online contact form to schedule an appointment with an experienced nursing home abuse and neglect attorney. Your case evaluation is cost-free, and you only pay our fees when we recover compensation.