One of the largest concerns for the elderly is preventing falls. They are the largest cause of injury death for people 65 years and older, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). In 2008, 19,700 older adults died from fall injuries and in 2009, 2.2 million fall injuries were…
When a family makes the difficult decision to place their loved one in the care of a nursing home, they hope the provided caregivers will be as loving and responsible as possible. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Many elders are abused in nursing homes due to their age…
It’s no secret that falls in the elderly nursing home population remain one of the largest threats to patients safety and overall well-being. Recognizing this threat, nursing homes must assess each patient for their potential fall-risk and create a plan of care to reduce the incidence of falls during their…
Falls in nursing homes are one of the biggest safety threats encountered by patients. Statistics tell use that more than one-third of all adults over age 65 fall unintentionally every year. A sizable percentage of these falls result in severe injury or death predominately due to complications from head injury…
When it comes to prosecuting cases involving fractures of unknown origin, one of the primary defenses proposed by nursing homes is that the fracture was simply “spontaneous”. In other words, due to the patient’s weakened state, the bone likely fractured simply as a result of the person’s own weight, taking…
Turning and repositioning are key elements in the prevention of decubitus ulcers (also known as: pressure ulcers, pressure sores or bed sores). In the process of repositioning patients, staff are to move the patient in their bed to relieve unrelieved pressure from areas on the body in contact with the…
Every year, almost 200,000 hip replacement surgeries are performed in the United States for a variety of reasons including trauma and arthritic conditions. For many of the hip-replacement patients, a hip replacement surgery is particularly difficult due to the invasive nature of the procedure and the lengthy recovery time. As…
If you were playing a word association game, I bet you’d be hard pressed to combine nursing home patients and car accidents! While the terms may mix like oil and water in many contexts, in my world as a nursing home lawyer I frequently see the two intermixed– and the…
In times of need, locating necessary information regarding the legal rights and resources for nursing home patients can be difficult and imposing. In this respect, we are proud to introduce a new resource for patients, families and practitioners looking for a concise compilation of information regarding nursing home laws. Nursing Home…
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…