Lawyer Resources for Falls in Nursing Homes

Nursing home falls can cause tragic injuries to your loved one, including broken limbs, severe abrasions, concussions, permanent mental damage, permanent disabilities and even death. The emotional turmoil that a vulnerable resident can experience after a nursing home fall includes depression, feelings of isolation, loneliness, anxiety, inability to communicate, trauma and other psychological illnesses. Nursing homes are liable in many cases for fall-related injuries, and it is important for you to stand up for the legal rights of a loved one who has suffered from nursing home falls. You can schedule an initial consultation with a nursing home lawyer to understand the compensation that may be available for a loved one who has suffered in falls in nursing home facilities.

Causes of Nursing Home Falls

Nursing home staff frequently fails to perform the required assessments to protect vulnerable adults from fall-related injuries. Nursing homes must fill out a fall-risk assessment, but these assessments often go missing, are incomplete or not filled out with enough care. Residents may need special medical equipment or beds to prevent falls in a nursing home. Residents with physical or mental disabilities are especially susceptible to falls in nursing homes.

Nursing home falls occur when there is failure to maintain clean and safe premises for residents. Residents may have access to broken or damaged wheelchairs, or there may be spilled liquid on floors. There may be a lack of specialized bathing equipment available for residents, and this also increases the likelihood that nursing home falls will result. Improperly trained staff may drop a resident during the transfer in and out of a nursing home bed. Even more disturbing is when nursing home falls are the result of other forms of abuse, such as the use of chemical restraints. Unnecessary medications may cause a resident to become drowsy and unable to walk properly in hallways. Residents under the influence of chemical restraints are at a great risk to suffer from fall-related injuries.

Required Supervision Under the Law and How Nursing Homes Fail to Adequately Supervise Residents

Nursing homes are required to provide consistent supervision of patients who may be at risk for suffering from falls. Under-staffing frequently accounts for a lack of consistent supervision of patients. Staff members may also be fatigued if they are forced to work long shifts, and this may result in improper supervision of residents at risk for falls.

In addition, those residents who have suffered from falls are required to have additional supervision. Close observation is required to ensure that residents who have been involved in falls do not suffer internal wounds or bleeding. In some of the worst instances, this close observation is not provided and leads to the death of residents. A resident may die from intracranial hemorrhages that develop after nursing home falls.

Statistics of Nursing Home Falls in the United States

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that over 1,800 nursing home residents die from falls every year. About 10 to 20 percent of all falls result in serious injuries of nursing home residents. One significant aspect of this problem is that the majority of falls go unreported, so family members may never learn about a fall. If family members see outward bruises or other injuries, then this may indicate that a nursing home resident has been involved in an unreported fall. The CDC also reports that nursing home residents are often involved in multiple falls in a given year. The average resident is involved in at least two to three multiple falls every year.

Get Help from Nursing Home Lawyers Today For Your Loved Ones Injuries Sustained In A Fall

The nursing home injury attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers can help you move forward in handling a case that involves fall-related injuries of your loved one. It can be frustrating to realize that nursing homes frequently fail to meet reporting requirements for these types of accidents, but our team of seasoned nursing home lawyers are prepared to investigate such cases and ensure that justice is served in your case. Don’t let the nursing home pass off your loved ones fall as an inevitable event! The majority of nursing home falls are due to the negligent assistance of staff or the failure to keep an environment safe and free from clutter and potentially dangerous conditions.

What Is Hypostatic Blood Pressure & Why Is There An Associated ‘Fall Risk’?

June 26, 2009 | Nursing Home Law Center Staff

Too we look to environmental causes of falls….cluttered hallways…improperly footwear…yet in many fall-related situations the real ’cause’ of the fall lies within the person herself…

Hypotension (low blood pressure) is a problem for many nursing home residents, causing dizziness and fainting. Blood pressure readings measure the pressure in arteries – systolic pressure (the top number in a reading) measures the pressure the heart generates when pumping blood out to the rest of the body and diastolic pressure (the bottom number in a reading) measures the amount of pressure between heartbeats. A systolic blood pressure of 90 millimeters of mercury or less or a diastolic blood pressure of 60 millimeters of mercury or less is considered low.

Orthostatic hypotension, also known as postural hypotension, occurs when a person’s blood pressure drops after changing position from lying down or sitting to standing as blood pools in the legs leaving less blood to circulate back to the heart. In the elderly, orthostatic hypotension can be caused by changes in blood pressure regulation due to aging, dehydration, and certain medications.

Nursing Home Sued After Resident Fractures Both Hips In Separate Falls

June 2, 2009 | Nursing Home Law Center Staff

A nursing home negligence lawsuit has been filed against Stearns Nursing and Rehabilitation Center after a 95-year-old resident fell on multiple occasions and suffered hip fractures. The lawsuit alleges that the facility failed to implement fall precautions despite the fact the facility knew the resident suffered from Alzheimer’s, was generally confused and considered to be a ‘high fall risk’.

The lawsuit claims, Stearns suffered multiple falls resulting in injuries during her admission from May 25th through July 7, 2007. In particular, the lawsuit alleges the following specific incidents:

On May 27, the resident wandered the hallways, unattended, and fell fracturing her left hip.

Never Event #1: Hospital Falls & Trauma

October 11, 2008 | Nursing Home Law Center Staff

Falls in trauma top the list of preventable medical conditions in hospitals, accounting for 193,566 incidents in 2007. Falls in hospitals (and similarly in nursing homes) are deemed to be preventable by Medicare because with proper fall/risk assessments and staff assistance most falls in hospital could be avoided. A number of factors should be addressed by a hospital to determine if a person is at risk for falls:

Medication that may effect balance or coordination
Does the person normally use an assistive device like a walker or cane? If so, one should be provided by the facility at all times.

Assisted Living Fall Leads To Wrongful Death Lawsuit

September 28, 2008 | Nursing Home Law Center Staff

The family of an assisted living resident has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the facility. 83-year-old, Luveda Fern Kessler, fell and cut her leg as she got out of bed at her Laguna Hills assisted living apartment. Ms Kessler did as she had been told to do: Press a personal emergency response call button, according to a recent lawsuit filed by her family.

The assisted living employee waited 24 minutes before calling 911. During the 24 minutes Ms. Kessler lay bleeding and unassisted with any staff. By the time the paramedics arrived, Ms. Kessler lay on her stomach, non-responsive. She was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Villa Valencia did not report the Aug. 23, 2007, incident to the state. The incident led to a wrongful death lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court last month against Villa Valencia and its owner, Sunrise Senior Living Inc. “They let my mom bleed to death,” said Kessler’s daughter, Joanne. “I thought that was the best place for her. … Her death was completely preventable.”

Nursing Home Sued Following Death Of Resident In Fall

September 10, 2008 | Nursing Home Law Center Staff

The family of a woman who died following a fall in a nursing home has filed a lawsuit against the facility alleging the fall caused the woman’s death. According to the lawsuit, Ferris McCarthy, a 79-year-old was a resident at the Sunrise Care and Rehab nursing home fell numerous times while a resident at the facility sustaining multiple injuries including: weight loss, dehydration, malnutrition, constipation, infection, a perforated bowel, and ultimately her death. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages from the nursing home and the nursing home’s parent company, Sun Healthcare Group. Technorati Profile

When evaluating whether to bring a nursing home negligence lawsuit, it is important to examine all potentially culpable parties. Many nursing homes appear to be small, independently owned facilities. An examination of the corporate books including filings with the Secretary of State, and the state and federal agencies is required to determine if there are multiple owners. All responsible parties should be named in the lawsuit or you may lose your right to recover from them. In some states, such as Illinois, you may also name the individual owners of the nursing home in a lawsuit.

Sunrise is a large corporation that operates nursing homes, long-term care facilities and hospice programs throughout the country. There currently 25 Sunrise facilities operating in Illinois.

Safe Transfers

August 5, 2008 | Nursing Home Law Center Staff

A ‘transfer’ in a nursing home setting generally refers to moving a patient from a bed to a wheelchair. Transfers are usually done two ways: using nursing assistants or mechanically (Hoyer lift). The type of transfer depends mainly on the patients physical condition. If a patient is capable of providing some assistance, a staff lift (one or two person transfer) is generally done. However, if a patient is paralyzed or suffers from physical disability, the use of a mechanized lift may be required to safely transfer the patient.

The choice of how to transfer a patient from a bed to a wheelchair is up to the facility. A determination of the type of transfer should be part of the evaluation when a person is admitted to the facility and for quarterly reviews of nursing home patient needs. It is crucial for the staff at the facility to use the properly predetermined transfer technique or the nursing home resident is at risk to injury.

Below are videos demonstrating the proper transfer technique for both the ‘manual’ method and using a Hoyer lift.

Study Links Medication Use With Falls

July 22, 2008 | Nursing Home Law Center Staff

How many medications do you take? If you can’t count the number of medications on one hand, studies suggest you should sit down. Researchers at the University of North Carolina have determined that seniors who take four or more prescription medications have two to three times the risk of falling as seniors who take fewer medications. Some of those drugs, the researchers say, may actually contribute to the risk of falling.

Some common antidepressants, seizure medications and painkillers have made the list, according to lead study author, Dr. Susan Blalock. These types of drugs all depress the nervous system, leading to slower response times and a lessening of coordination, especially among seniors, according to the report. Study results are published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy.

Researchers recommend that, should a senior discover they are taking one of the meds mentioned on the list, they continue taking the medication until discussing possible side effects and falls risk with their physician. They also suggest that doctors prescribe alternative medications with less sedating effects and that pharmacists be on the look-out for seniors who are taking four or more medications, and to alert those who are to the risks.

Nursing Home Falls

June 3, 2008 | Nursing Home Law Center Staff

Falls in nursing homes may be the largest heath threat to the elderly. Older people tend to fall more frequently than their younger counterparts. However, when an older person falls they are substantially more likely to become injured than a younger person. Some startling statistics from the Center for Disease Control demonstrate the obvious: falls in nursing homes are widespread and have a devastating impact on the residents. danger-sign-adn-falling2

About 1800 people die each year due to falls in nursing homes
10 to 20% of nursing home falls result in serious injury, 2 – 6% of falls result in fractured bones
3 out of 4 people living in a nursing home will fall this year
Most people are ‘repetitive fallers’- After a first fall, there is a substantial likelihood that you will fall again
Most falls go unreported

Falls in nursing homes occur for a variety of reasons. Some of the more common causes for falls are:

Muscle weakness and walking or gait problems. (24% nursing home falls)
Hazards in the nursing home- wet floors, poor lighting, improper be heights, improperly maintained wheelchairs, equipment left out of place (16 – 27% nursing home falls)
Medications. Drugs that effect the central nervous system, such as sedatives and anti-anxiety drugs (psychoactive drugs)
Improperly fitting shoes or incorrect walking aids
Frequent use of restraints

The prevention of falls requires a team approach. All health care professionals in the nursing home setting must work together to help encourage nursing home safety. Additionally, nursing homes should do the following:

Conduct a fall-risk assessment for every resident to determine who may be at risk for falls. This puts the staff on notice as to who may need special attention.
Install safety devices such as grab bars, adjustable height beds and handrails
Review all prescribed medications to assess what residents may be a fall risk due to the nature of the medication
Install alarms on on beds and chairs for residents who are at a particularly high fall risk.
Remove clutter from walkways