One of the most frequent and serious threats that California nursing home residents face is falls. They can come about in all kinds of ways including the following: falls out of beds; falls from wheelchairs; falls in the bathroom; and falls in transit.
However, just because they are so ubiquitous doesn’t mean that they are not costly. Residents suffer a number of damages from fall accidents such as broken bones, medical bills, and decreased quality of life just to name a few.
Here are some California nursing home cases that involve falls.
$500,000 VerdictThis dispute took place over several months. Upon being admitted to the nursing home in question, the plaintiff resident had already been diagnosed with osteoporosis, dementia, and Alzheimer’s.
However, regardless of these serious medical issues and the specific instructions of her doctors, the defendant nursing home did not take proper precautions to protect her. Consequently, she wandered off the nursing home property and fell down causing her to break her hip.
She sought treatment at a local hospital and was returned to the nursing home soon thereafter. Unfortunately, her second stay was not much better than her first, and she suffered various injuries due to the negligence of the nursing facility.
Lawyers on her behalf brought an action to recover damages for the multiple injuries that she sustained while living there including her fall.
A jury awarded her $500,000 most likely because of the following:
This accident was as severe as it was avoidable. The victim was a nursing home resident in his middle seventies. The facility he lived at was in the middle of Los Angeles. One day while he was staying there, he asked the nurse to help him go to the bathroom.
She assisted him in getting onto the toilet then she left the room. While she was away, he slipped off the toilet and fell down.
The incident was significant. He sustained a subdural hematoma. Over the next few days, his condition worsened substantially and he had to be taken to a nearby hospital. Eventually, with the aid of counsel, he brought a lawsuit against the nursing home for negligence to recover for the damages that he incurred due to the accident.
He claimed the defendant facility negligently supervised and cared for him and that these errors led to his injuries.
The defendant offered to settle for $500,000 but the plaintiff wouldn’t accept anything below $750,000 so they went to trial. A jury awarded him $600,000.
Here are some factors that might explain this verdict:
The victim in this lawsuit was an 80-year-old man who was moved to the nursing home after suffering two strokes. In court documents filed later, the plaintiff claimed that during his transfer into the nursing facility he was dropped two times.
Then, while living at the home, he fell another two times. He alleged that one of the falls at the nursing facility led to a spinal fracture as well as spinal canal retropulsion.
Also, he described various complications that resulted from the incidents including bed sores, loss of mobility, excruciating pain, bowel problems, and many other effects. The nursing home denied all charges so the case went to trial.
After both sides presented their cases, the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff in the amount of $1,250,000.
Here are some notes to remember when reviewing this lawsuit:
This case apparently had as much to do with a cover up as an accident. The plaintiff was a nursing home resident in her mid-80’s. She decided to enter the facility after undergoing treatment on her hip.
While living at the nursing home, she claimed that she fell and that the home tried to cover up that it ever happened.
She also claims that she suffered a broken bone from the incident that left her unable to walk and in extreme pain. Her sister visited her not long after the alleged fall and appeared to confirm her story. Both sides settled out of court for a reported $1,844,000.
Here are some facts that might explain that agreement.
In this suit, a nursing home resident paged the staff for help going to the washroom. In fact, she paged them for hours but they never responded. Eventually, she got up and went by herself but in doing so fell down and broke her femur.
The accident left her crippled and with long-term pain and suffering. She sued the nursing home for these injuries. It denied all responsibility but agreed to settle for $350,000.
Here are some factors that might have convinced it to settle the matter:
Here, an elderly woman was admitted to a nursing home after suffering a fall at her house. She struggled from a number of health problems including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. While living at the nursing home, she experienced another fall which left her severely injured.
She brought a cause of action against the nursing home for the incident and the injuries that resulted from it.
Before the jury could return a verdict, both sides decided to settle the matter for $250,000 possibly because of the following reasons:
This case involved a series of accidents that beset an elderly woman. She was 88 years old and had recently fractured her hip. While staying at the hospital during recovery, she fell a number of times as she tried to walk about the premises without any assistance. Eventually, she was transferred to a nearby nursing home.
Before being admitted, the staff was instructed that she was a high risk for falls and that she needed guardrails attached to her bed.
Despite these warnings, the nursing home staff didn’t do anything in particular and the woman fell one night while trying to get up. She sustained broken bones and significant medical expenses.
Both sides settled out of court for $50,000 most likely due to the following reasons:
In this incident, nursing home staff accidentally dropped an elderly female resident as they were helping her out of bed. She broke her femur and required surgery and traction. She sued the facility for negligence.
Her complaint argued that nursing home staff were negligent in there care for her and should have used a more reasonable method of transporting her to avoid a fall.
Prior to trial, both sides decided to settle the matter for $57,000 possibly because of these points:
If your loved one suffered a fall while living at a nursing home in California, then attorneys with Nursing Home Law News can help you. We will start by exhaustively reviewing your case. Then, we will use all of our experience and resources to pursue recovery in court.
Plus, since we work on contingency, you only have to pay for our work if you’re satisfied with the jury award or settlement amount. Just call us today! Your recovery is waiting for you!
If you are looking for information on the laws and regulations that apply to nursing homes in California, look here.
For information on nursing facilities in specific California cities and for local attorneys, look at pages below:
Attorney Anthony Lanzone
Licensed in California
Los Angeles Nursing Home Injury Attorney Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home