As a nursing home attorney, most of my cases fit cleanly within one category of negligence – bedsores, falls, elopement, medication errors or choking. Recently, I feel like I may need to add ‘wheelchair accidents’ to the list of these primarily preventable and tragic situations. Wheelchair accidents too common in…
Unfortunately, many suspicious acts involving injuries to nursing home patients get completely ignored by prosecutors primarily because (even in situations where they are notified about an incident) there is rarely enough evidence to prosecute the criminal act. Even in situations where authorities are ‘tipped off’ the closed-door environment of nursing…
Moving a patient from one device to another– or typically referred to as a ‘transfer’– is one of the most essential services a nursing home provides to immobile patients, yet it is also one of the most common sources of patient injury. Transfers are deemed to be such an important…
Following a two week trial and several hours of deliberations, a Kentucky jury has awarded the family of a deceased nursing home patient $8 million in damages for the errors made related to the care of the patient during an admission in 2008. Categorically, the damages were apportioned: $2 million…
Rightfully so, under-staffing in nursing homes remains a significant threat to the health and safety of the vulnerable people who rely on staff for their care. While many situations involving a patient injury may be suspected to be related to under-staffing, it frankly can be a difficult concept to establish…
From a liability perspective, nursing home fall cases prove to be far more difficult than they may appear to be at first glance. While nursing home must assess each patient for their propensity to fall and implement fall prevention accordingly— for some patients falls may occur even with safeguards in…
The Chicago Tribune recently reported on a jury verdict where the family of a deceased nursing home patient was awarded $546,000 in a lawsuit brought against Friendship Manor Care in Grinnell (Iowa) and Midwest Ambulance Services of Iowa. The lawsuit was brought about by a 2009 incident in which an…
Inadequate maintenance of a lift is responsible for the death of a patient at Eskaton Care Center Manzanita (California). The lift at issue is used to help staff transfer physically disabled patients into and out of their bed. According to an investigation completed by the California Department of Health, the…
Given the frequency (approximately 80+% of all nursing nursing home patients will experience a fall this coming year) with which nursing home falls occur, facilities must be on the lookout when it comes to implementing fall prevention techniques in order to improve patient safety. Too often, the prevention comes too…
Many elderly people suffer broken bones during admissions to nursing homes due to; falls, being dropped, or perhaps improper care from staff. Regardless how the fracture occurred, a fractured bone in the elderly must be timely identified and treated. What is a fracture? A fracture is a broken bone…