Top Causes of Nursing Home Falls

 Posted on January 25,2018 in Nursing Home Falls

When a person thinks of a nursing home, they tend to imagine that most deaths or hospitalizations occur as a result of illnesses or injuries that resident already had. However, this is not always the case. Sometimes, something as simple as a slip and fall can be enough to seriously injure or even kill a resident. In fact, an average nursing home facility reports between 100 and 200 falls each year. These falls represent the largest cause of preventable hospital emergency room visits among nursing home patients. Each year, over 1,800 nursing home residents die due to falls, and countless more suffer fall-related injuries.

Nursing Home Residents Are at Increased Risk of Serious Injury

Individuals in a nursing home are usually in such a facility because they are not able to live alone. They may have physical or mental disabilities that make it impossible for them to care for themselves. Because nursing home residents are often frail, elderly, or in poor health, it is crucial for the facility’s staff to take every possible measure to keep residents safe. Unfortunately, between 50 and 75 percent of nursing facility residents fall at least once each year. The most common causes of such falls include:

• Muscle weakness and trouble walking;
• Medications which can cause dizziness or disorientation;
• Injuries or medical problems with a resident’s feet;
• Environmental hazards such as wet floors or obstacles on the ground; and
• Poorly designed or maintained equipment such as walkers, wheelchairs, bedrails, or furniture.

Of course, there is no way to prevent every possible injury to residents, but sometimes nursing homes are at fault when a resident falls. Understaffed facilities may not have enough employees present to supervise residents properly. Other times, staff members are negligent by leaving equipment in the middle of walkways, not cleaning spills, failing to check equipment for safety before use, or providing inadequate lighting which can cause an elderly person to fall. When a nursing home resident is injured or killed in a fall that could have been prevented, the resident and/or his family may be entitled to compensation.

Contact a Nursing Home Falls Attorney

At Schwartz Injury Law, our Chicago nursing home injury attorneys have the experience and legal knowledge to provide our clients the agressive representation they deserve. We know that a fall can be very serious – especially when the person is elderly or disabled. We work with clients to hold those responsible fully accountable and to get financial compensation for those who have been injured. If you or a loved one has been injured in a nursing home fall, contact us today at 312-535-4625 for a free case evaluation.

Sources:

https://www.nursinghomeabusecenter.com/nursing-home-injuries/falls-fractures/

http://www.nextavenue.org/6-signs-of-nursing-home-neglect/