Can I Sue after a Fall in a Nursing Home?

Thous

nds of nu

sing home

esidents e inju

ed in

ccident

l f

lls e

ch ye

. In f

ct,

cco

ding to info

tion<

ef="http:

.cdc.gov

home

tion

fety/f

lls

sing.html" tget="_bl

nk”

el="noopene

nofollo

"> published by the Cente

s fo

Dise

se Cont

nd P

evention (CDC)<>, bet

een one-h

nd th

ee-qute

s of nu

sing home

esidents f

ll e

ch ye

. Fo

tun

tely, some of these inju

ies m

y be compens

ble by filing

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

file-

-pe

son

l-inju

y-cl

“>pe

son

l inju

y cl

im >

inst the pe

son o

cility

esponsible fo

you

loved one’s f

ll.

Nu
sing Home Li
bility

sing homes

ssisted living f

cilities should

lys meet the medic

l needs of thei

esidents, m

ny of

hom m

y be p

one to issues such

s poo

nce o

cognitive difficulties. In

ddition, both st

nd fede

l l

equi

e th

t nu

sing homes m

int

in ce

in st

ndds

ding p

tient s

fety

nd ce. The

lity, ho

eve

, is th

t nu

sing homes do not

ys follo

these st

ds—sometimes

ith dis

ous consequences foesidents. Even

hen they

e in line

ith

egul

tions, nu

sing home st

ff m

y m

ke mist

kes th

esult in inju

y to p

tients.

Unde

the leg

l doct

ine of “negligence pe

se,” leg

l st

ds imposed by l

n opete

s the

pplic

ble st

ndd of ce

hen t

ying to dete

mine negligence. To use

simple ex

mple,

ive

ho is d

iving f

ste

n the speed limit is “negligent” bec

use they e speeding. In the context of nu

sing homes, the st

ndds e often mo

e complic

ted,

nd it m

y be mo

e difficult to sho

t nu

sing homes did not comply

ith the l

, but the p

inciple

ins the s

me.

s esult,

hen f

lls e the

esult of non-compli

nce

ith the

pplic

ble st

te o

fede

egul

tions, it m

y be sufficient to est

blish leg

l li

bility fo

ny losses incu

ed.

Common C
uses of Nu
sing Home F
lls<
h2>
The
e e m
ny potenti
l ys th
t <
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.com
se
vices
houston-nu
sing-home-
buse-
tto
ney/”>nu
sing home neglect<> could c
use

esident to f
ll. Belo
e some common c
uses of nu
sing home f
lls.

L
ck of supe
vision<
h3>
P

t of the job of nu
sing home st
ff is to monito

nd supe
vise
esidents
hen they might inju
e themselves. M
ny nu
sing home
esidents h
ve mobility issues,
nd they might
equi
e
ssist
nce to lk do
n the h
ll, use the
est
oom, o
even get out of

heelch
i
o
bed.
hen st
ff membe
s f
il to p
ovide necess

y supe
vision
nd
ssist
nce to
esidents, someone c
n e
sily lose thei
b
l
nce o
st
ength
nd f
ll, suffe
ing se
ious inju
ies.
hile some f
lls h
ppen
ithout
ny notice to st
ff membe
s, the
e should be p
otocols in pl
ce fo
st
ff to p
ope
ly supe
vise
esidents to
void f
lling
nd suffe
ing hm.

L
ck of h
ndils<
h3>
Bec
use nu
sing homes
e
lize th
t m
ny
esidents might h
ve lessened b
l
nce, coo
din
tion, o
st
ength, these f
cilities should h
ve h
ndils
long
ll lkys
nd othe
e
s
he
e people might be

lking o
st
nding. This

y,
esidents c
n hold the h
ndils to help them
void f
lling should they stumble o
lose thei
b
l
nce. Ho
eve
, some nu
sing homes do not h
ve h
nd

ils eve
y
he
e they should,
nd
esidents tveling th
ough these

e
s of the home do not h
ve
nything to suppo
t them if they st

t to f
ll. The s
me is t
ue if existing h
nd

ils

e d
m
ged, poo
ly m
int
ined, o
othe

ise inc
p
ble of p
oviding necessy suppo
t fo

esidents.

Exposed elect
ic
l co
ds<
h3>
In ou
mode
n
o
ld, elect
ic
l co
ds e un
void
ble. F
om televisions to coffee m
chines, the
ppli
nces
e use eve
y d
y need to st
y plugged into ll outlets. Unfo
tun
tely, elect
ic
l co
ds
unning
c
oss the floo
pose
signific
nt t
ipping h
z

d, even
hen they e not in
long-te
m ce envi
onment. Long-te
m ce f
cilities should h
ve designs th
t
ccommod
te people
ith mobility o
vision issues,
nd they must t
ke ext

p
ec
utions to ensu
e th
t elect
ic
l co
ds e hidden o
positioned in
y th
t minimizes the
isk they pose to
esidents
nd visito
s.

In
pp
op
i
te
ctivities<
h3>
Nu
sing homes often h
ve
viety of
ctivities to keep
esidents occupied
nd enjoying thei
lives. Ho
eve
, they must p
ovide
ctivities
pp
op
i
te fo
the he
lth
nd
bilities of the pticip
nts. Fo
ex
mple, some nu
sing homes might h
ve d
nce lessons o
events,
nd m
ny
esidents might enjoy them. Ho
eve
, d
ncing might not be
n
pp
op
i
te
ctivity fo

esidents
ith high f
ll
isks. If
esidents

e
llo
ed to p

ticip
te in
ctivities th
t might h
ve
f
ll
isk, st
ff membe
s should
l

ys p
ovide the necessy supe
vision
nd
ssist
nce f
om st

t to finish. If st
ff gets distcted, it might le
d to
f
ll
nd se
ious inju
ies.

In
dequ
te lighting<
h3>
dequ
te lighting in nu
sing homes is c
itic
l foesident s
fety,
s m
ny
esidents h
ve vision p
oblems o
othe
issues th
t m
ke them mo
e likely to f
ll. This me
ns th
t nu
sing homes should be
ell lit, especi
lly in

e
s
he
e f
lls

e mo
e likely, such
s st
iells o
common

e
s.
hen
esidents c
n’t see
ell, they c
n suffe
se
ious f
lls th
t
ould be
void
ble h
d the f
cility inst
lled
dequ
te lighting.

Unsecu
ed f
cilities

sing homes should

ys ensu

e they h

dequ

te secu

ity to keep

esidents f

om exiting the f

cility

nd nde

ing off

ithout p

ope

supe

vision

ssist

nce.

hen

sing home is unsecu

ed, the

e’s nothing to stop someone f

ming the g

ounds o

even le

ving the p

ope

ty on thei

Some

esidents might get lost o

confused,

hile othe

s might

un into obst

cles like st

eets

ith he

vy tffic, uneven sidelks, cu

bs,

nd mo

e. These conditions might le

d to

ll. In

ddition,

hen esident le

ves

sing home unsupe

vised, they might not h

ve c

nes, lke

s, o

othessist

nce th

t they usu

lly need to

lk p

ope

ly. Unsecu

ed f

cilities c

n le

d to f

lls in m

ys.

Misdi
gnosis<
h3>
Nu
sing home
esidents c
n h
ve m
ny
ilments
nd inju
ies,
nd it is impo
t
nt fo
medic
l st
ff to p
ope
ly di
gnose e
ch condition to keep
esidents s
fe. If the medic
l te
m f
ils to p
ope
ly di
gnose
condition, the
esident o
st
ff might not be

e of limit
tions o
imp
i
ments th
t might impede theibility to lk. M
ny medic
l conditions c
n c
use
e
kness
nd stiffness,
hile
v

iety of inju
ies c
n c
use p
in o
othe
p
oblems
hen
ttempting to lk o
st
nd.
misdi
gnosis c
n le
d to in
dequ
te t
e
tment of conditions,
s
ell
s
heightened f
ll
isk,
hich c
n le
d to p
event
ble inju
ies.

Medic
tion e

o
s<
h3>
Medic
tions e often needed to m
n
ge symptoms
nd t
e
t medic
l conditions, though most medic
tions come
ith <
h
ef="https:
/
.fd
.gov/d
ugs
info
m
tion-consume
s-
nd-p
tients-d
ugs/finding-
nd-lening-
bout-side-effects-
dve
se-
e
ctions” t

get=”_bl
nk"
el=”noopene
nofollo
“>side effects >. If
nu
sing home
dministe
s too much medic
tion to

esident o
f
ils to supe
vise them
fte
giving them medic
tion
ith kno
n side effects, it might le
d to
f
ll. The
esident might think they c
n lk, only to find out—
hen it’s too l
te—th
t the medic
tion
esulted in dizziness o
othe
effects th
t hinde
thei

bilities. This c
n le
d to
f
ll if no one is supe
vising them. Unde
-medic
ting
esidents c
n le
d to f
lls
s
ell. If someone needs medic
tion to keep them
le
t, ste
dy, o
othe

ise st
ble,
nd they do not
eceive the necessy medic
tion, they might t
y to get up f
om bed
nd end up f
lling.

These

e f

f
om the only
e
sons
hy nu
sing homes might le
d to
f
ll
nd inju
ies to

esident. If you

e unsu
e
hethe

nu
sing home s negligent in you
loved one’s f
ll, you should let
Tex
s nu
sing home
tto
ney
evieh
t h
ppened.
e c
n ex
mine
hethe
the
e is evidence of negligence,
s
ell
s
hethe
the nu
sing home viol
ted
ny st
te o
fedel
egul
tions. Spe
k
ith ou
leg
l te
m
s soon
s possible to le

n
bout you
loved one’s
ights follo
ing
f
ll inju
y.

Inju
ies
nd Losses f
om Nu
sing Home F
lls

ss=”

lign

ight” s

c="https:

inju

yvictims.comp-content

uplo

2014/02/elde

-ce-home-

ights.jpg”

lt="Sue

fte

ll in

sing Home"

idth=”339″ height=”226″ />

hen oldedults f

ll, the

esulting complic

tions c

n be much mo

e se

ious th

n if the s

me f

ll h

ppened to

younge

son.

s esult,

ny time

n oldedult f

lls, the f

cility should conduct

tho

ough medic

l ev

tion to dete

mine

hethe

ny se

ious inju

ies exist.

hen medic

l help is not p

ovided, it m

y est

blish

dep

e f

om the

ccepted st

d of c

nd c

n be the b

sis fo

leg

l li

bility fo

ny d

ges th

victim sust

ins. Some common inju

ies th

t might

esult

hen

sing home

esident f

lls include:

Fctu
ed Hips

Hip f

ctu

es e one of the mo

e common issues th

esult f

om oldedult f

lls,

nd they c

n le

d to ext

emely se

ious complic

tions. The <

ef=”https://

.cdc.gov

lls

hip-f

ctu

es.html" tget="_bl

nk”

el="noopene

nofollo

">Cente

s fo

Dise

se Cont

nd P

evention (CDC)

epo

ts<> th

t mo

e th

n 300,000 senio

s ove

the

ge of 65 end up in the hospit

l fo

hip fctu

es,

nd the lge m

ity of those fctu

es (95%) h

ppen due to f

lls.

Hip f

ctu

es e se

ious inju

ies fo

olde

dults. They often

equi

e su

hich h

s highe

isks fo

senio

ith

kened he

lth. Often, nu

sing home

esidents c

n't lk un

ssisted

fte fctu

ed hip.

T

um
tic Bin Inju
y

ef=”https://

.cdc.gov

ticbininju

y/index.html” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

nofollo

“>T

tic bin inju

ies > often occuhen nu

sing home

esidents f

nd hit thei

ds o

e hit in the he

d by othe

objects.

ll TBIs e se

ious inju

ies, even

hen medic

l p

ofession

ls design

te them

s “mild” b

sed on v

ious di

gnostic c

ite

s they c

esult in signific

nt long-te

m complic

tions

nd issues.

In m

ny c

ses, <

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

vices

houston-t

tic-bin-inju

y-tbi-

tto

ney/”>t

tic bin inju

ies >

esult in issues like memo

y loss, confusion, p

oblems communic

ting,

nd emotion

egul

tion st

uggles. In p

ticul

ly seve

e c

ses, TBIs c

esult in long-te

m cognitive issues th

t c

esult in the loss of the

bility to communic

nd eng

ge in t

sks victims once enjoyed.

senio

ith

TBI might expe

ience:

i
-level="1">Long-te
m unconsciousness
i
-level="1">Memo
y loss
i
-level="1">Loss of
e
ding o
communic
tion
bilities
i
-level="1">Dep
ession
nd
nxiety
i
-level="1">Iit
bility
nd
nge
<
li>
i
-level="1">Loss of b
l
nce
nd coo
din
tion
i
-level="1">Loss of speech
bilities

ll of these effects c

n h

signific

nt imp

ct on the qu

lity of the senio

’s

ining life.

Spin
l Inju
y

hen nu

sing home

esidents suffe

ef=”https://medlineplus.gov/spin

lco

dinju

ies.html" tget="_bl

nk”

el="noopene

nofollo

">spin

l co

d inju

ies >, the

esults c

n be c

ophic. Complete spin

l co

d inju

ies c

esult in p

lysis belo

the site of the inju

nd incomplete SCIs c

n le

ve victims

ith p

in, limited mobility, loss of sens

tion,

nd othe

issues. Nu

sing home

esidents

ho suffe

spin

l co

d inju

ies often become bed

idden,

hich c

n, in tu

n, le

d to othe

issues th

t m

y seve

ely

ffect thei

lity of life

bility to enjoy the

ctivities they enjoyed befo

e theiccident. In the most seve

e c

ses, SCIs c

n be f

l o

ectly le

d to secondy medic

l issues th

t e ultim

tely f

Othe
Fctu
es

The

e e m

ny othe

bones th

t nu

sing home

esidents c

n b

hen they f

ll, including:

-level=”1″>

ists
i
-level="1">Elbo
s
i
-level="1">ms<
li>
i
-level="1">Legs<
li>
i
-level="1">
nkles
i
-level="1">Feet<
li>
i
-level="1">Collbone<
li>
i
-level="1">
ibs
i
-level="1">Pelvis<
li>

Some f

ctu

es might need su

y to

lign the bone

nd inse

t h

e. Othe

s might t

ke months to he

nd the

esident c

nnot lk o

nd independently in the me

ntime. H

ving limited mobility c

n le

d to othe

lth issues,

ecove

y might

equi

e extensive physic

l thepy—if the

esident eve

fully

ecove

ll.

Contusions
nd L
cetions<
h3>
hile “cuts
nd b
uises” might not be
huge conce
n fo
younge
individu
ls, they

e mo
e se
ious inju
ies
hen they h
ppen to
n olde

dult. Olde
skin tissues b
e
k do
n
nd b
uise e
sie
, often le
ding to lge
b
uises th
t h
ve
difficult time he
ling. These e
s c
n get
e-b
uised ovend oveg
in, le
ding to
ch
onic
nd p
inful p
oblem.
hen
nu
sing home
esident suffe
s
l
cetion in
f
ll, the
isk of complic
tions might be highe
th
n fo younge
individu
l. M
ny senio
s develop diffe
ent bleeding diso
de
s, o
they might be on medic
tion th
t dec
e
ses blood clotting
bilities. If
l
ce

tion does not get p
ope
t
e
tment f
om the nu
sing home st
ff, the
isk of
life-th
e
tening infection c
n develop.
ll of the
bove inju
ies
nd mo
e c
n
equi
e medic
l
ttention, confinement to
bed oheelch
i
,
nd mo
e. M
ny people unde
estim
te the losses th
t
esidents might suffe
due to
n inju
y, but the consequences e extensive.

ddition
l Medic
l T
e
tment

sing home

esidents often need

egul medic

l c

ttention fo

vious conditions,

ll-

ted inju

ill only

dd to thei

tment

egimen. Medic

l t

tment fo

ll inju

ies c

n include:

i
-level="1">Eme
gency t

nspo
t
tion to
neby hospit
l
i
-level="1">Eme
gency
oom t
e
tment, including di
gnostic tests
i
-level="1">
dmission to the hospit
l<
li>
i
-level="1">Su
gic
l p
ocedu
es<
li>
i
-level="1">Medic
tions
i
-level="1">Medic
l equipment
i
-level="1">
ssistive devices
i
-level="1">Physic
l the

py

ll of these costs

ill

dd up ve

y quickly,

nd the

esident should not be

esponsible fo

such expenses if the nu

sing home’s negligence c

used the f

ll.

eh
bilit
tion

bilit

tion c

n be

much longe

ocess fo

senio

s th

n fo

youngend he

lthie

dults. Olde

dults

e often st

ting

ith

muscles

nd joints, so building up st

ength

fte fctu

e o

soft tissue inju

y c

n be

lengthy p

ocess. In

ddition, if

esident suffe

in inju

bilit

tion c

n be ch

llenging if they h

ve p

eexisting cognitive deficiencies. In f

ct, ce

esidents c

n neveeh

bilit

te to thei

e-TBI st

tes.

Loss of Qu
lity of Life<
h3>
Nu
sing home
esidents might
l
e
dy st
uggle
ith m
ny
spects of eve
yd
y life,
nd suffe
ing
f
ll inju
y c
n only m
ke thei
lives hde
.
hen
n inju
y c
uses
ddition
l physic
l o
cognitive limit
tions, it c
n
esult in less pticip
tion in
ctivities, soci
liz
tion, o
othe
things the
esident p
eviously enjoyed. Some
esidents c
n no longe
le
ve theiooms follo
ing
n inju
y,
hich c
n t
ke
huge toll on thei
h
ppiness.

P
in
nd Suffe
ing<
h3>
M
ny inju
ies le
d to signific
nt physic
l
nd emotion
l p
in
nd suffe
ing th
t c
n go on fo

eeks o
even months. Fo
tun
tely fo
victims, non-economic d
m
ges like p
in
nd suffe
ing e compens
ble unde
st
te l

. Bec
use these d
m
ges c
n be difficult to p
ove,
nyone seeking compens
tion fo
p
in
nd suffe
ing must spe
k to
n expe
ienced
tto
ney befo
e
ccepting
settlement offe
o
t
king othe
steps th
t could
ffect thei
leg
l
ights.

ongful De
th<
h3>
In some c
ses,
nu
sing home
esident might p
ss
y bec
use of f
ll inju
ies, such
s du
ing su
ge
y fo fctu
ed hip o
due to
seve
e TBI. In these situ
tions, the f
milies of the
esident c
n suffe
losses due to the p
event
ble
nd p
em
tu
e <
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.com
se
vices
houston-

ongful-de
th-
tto
ney
“>de
th of thei
loved one >. These
nd othe
losses m
y be compens
ble th
ough
pe
son
l inju
y cl
im (o
ongful de
th cl
im)
g
inst the p

ty o
pties
esponsible fo
the f
ll. To obt
in such compens
tion you must p
ove the nu
sing home

s negligent,
hich c
n be ch
llenging. Nu
sing homes
ill often do
h
teve
is possible to
void li
bility,
s li
bility might
lso come
ith civil pen
lties, b
d p
ess,
nd mo
e. You c
n expect the f
cility to put up
fight, so you

nt to h
ve
nu
sing home inju
y l

ye
h
ndling the c
se
ho kno
s ho
to st
nd up to negligent f
cilities
nd thei
insu

nce comp
nies. e id=”
tt
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