Nursing home falls are an all too common reality that can leave their victims with serious injuries. Learning that your family member was injured due to a nursing home fall can be heartbreaking, especially if that fall could have been prevented or is the result of nursing home negligence, but that’s where we come in. As the leading nursing home abuse attorney in Chester County, HoeyLegal is uniquely qualified to get nursing home fall victims and their families the compensation that they deserve.
Here at HoeyLegal, we understand the fear, frustration, and grief that families feel when their elderly loved ones are harmed in a nursing home fall. It’s completely normal to feel scared and inconsolable, but you can always trust that our team of Chester County nursing home negligence experts is here to help.
Suppose your loved one succumbs to an injury from a fall in a Chester County nursing home. In that case, it’s essential that you contact a HoeyLegal nursing home abuse attorney as quickly as possible. That being said, nursing home fall cases can be complicated, and it’s always beneficial to have a general understanding of how these situations work before they occur.
Whether your loved one was the recent victim of a nursing home fall or you just want to ensure you’re prepared in case one happens, here is everything you need to know about why nursing home falls happen and who is legally responsible when they do.
How Common Are Falls in Nursing Homes?
Nursing home falls are, unfortunately, more common than you may think. Even more worrying, according to the National Institutes of Health, only about 57% of the nursing home falls that happen are reported in the first place. This makes the following statistics even more alarming, as they only represent the falls that have been officially reported.
Anywhere from 50% to 75% of nursing home residents fall every year, and of those, 1 in 3 falls again within a year of the first fall. This is a highly alarming rate of falling, especially when considering the potential dangers associated with these falls. For example, 1 in 10 nursing home falls result in serious injury, and according to the CDC, 1800 nursing home residents die every year from their injuries.
This means that nursing home falls aren’t just common. If you have a family member in a nursing home, chances are that they will fall at some point throughout their stay.
Common Causes of Falls in Nursing Homes
Nursing home falls don’t just happen on their own. There are a wide variety of different causes that can lead to a nursing home resident falling. While some of these falls are completely accidental and no one’s fault, many are still completely preventable. Here are just a few of the most common causes of falls in nursing homes.
Environmental Hazards
Environmental hazards are among the most common causes of nursing home falls and often result from staff members’ general negligence at the nursing home. Anything from unmarked wet floors and loose rugs to poor lighting, cluttered hallways, and out-of-place furniture can create dangerous conditions that could cause someone to fall.
Lack of Adequate Supervision
Providing adequate supervision is of the utmost importance in any nursing home, especially when it comes to nursing home residents who have mobility issues or are dealing with cognitive decline. Whether it’s understaffing or plain negligence, failing to provide adequate supervision is a leading cause of nursing home falls.
Medication Side Effects and Errors
It’s no secret that elderly people in nursing homes often take a variety of different medications to treat their specific medical conditions. The only problem is that these medications usually have side effects, especially if they aren’t administered properly. Under certain conditions, these side effects can significantly increase the likelihood of a nursing home resident falling.
Poorly Maintained Equipment
Mobility issues are prevalent among nursing home residents, and many of these individuals rely on equipment such as walkers and wheelchairs to get around. If nursing home staff fail to maintain this equipment properly, it’s more likely than not to lead to a resident falling and injuring themselves.
Resident Health Issues
In addition to mobility issues, nursing home residents also frequently suffer from several other health conditions, including Dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s, as well as general muscle weakness, confusion, and infections. All of these factors have the potential to increase the likelihood of a fall, especially when nursing home staff fail to follow established medical care plans.
Inadequate Fall Prevention Measures
Nursing home staff should operate with the understanding that there is always a risk of someone falling, and they should implement measures to minimize this likelihood. Whether it’s installing railings and grab bars in bathrooms, hallways, and on staircases, or creating personalized intervention plans for patients at higher risk, failure to provide adequate fall prevention measures is yet another leading cause of nursing home falls.
The Legal Responsibilities of Nursing Homes
Whether it’s falling or any other situation that may cause harm, nursing home staff have a legal obligation to provide a safe environment and take reasonable precautions to protect their residents from injury.
In Pennsylvania, both state and federal laws govern the operations of nursing homes. Failure to comply with these regulations is almost always due to negligence, leading to either the individual or the facility as a whole being legally responsible for any fall injuries that occur.
While this is not a completely exhaustive list, some of the most critical legal responsibilities of nursing homes include:
- Accurately assessing each resident’s risk of falling both upon admission to the facility and periodically throughout their stay.
- Maintaining a generally safe environment that is free of any known hazards.
- Providing sufficient supervision based on the individual needs of each resident.
- Properly documenting and responding to any fall-related incidents.
Who is Liable for a Nursing Home Fall
In the vast majority of cases, the nursing home and its operators are held liable if someone falls, but they aren’t necessarily the only ones at fault. In rare cases, others may share or even have complete responsibility for the fall and the resulting injuries.
Third-Party Maintenance Companies
Nursing homes often employ third-party maintenance companies to perform regular maintenance, ensuring the environment remains clean and safe. If the fall was due to a lack of proper maintenance, the third-party maintenance company could share the blame.
Medical Professionals
Medical professionals can also play a hand in causing a preventable fall. Whether it’s mismanaging the administration of medications or simply making a poor medical judgment, these and other situations could leave the medical professional liable.
Equipment Manufacturers
Faulty equipment, such as walkers, wheelchairs, or bed rails, is also a significant hazard that can cause a nursing home resident to fall. If this is the case, the equipment manufacturer is most likely at fault.
Proving Fault in a Nursing Home Fall Case
To win a nursing home fall case, you need to prove that someone acted negligently and is at fault. This always requires a thorough investigation that includes collecting hard evidence to strengthen the case’s merits.
Witness testimony is always extremely valuable in any personal injury case, and considering that nursing homes house many residents and employ numerous staff members, obtaining witness testimonials shouldn’t be challenging.
In addition to witness testimonies, incident reports, medical records, surveillance camera footage, and expert opinions from outside consultants, all can act as compelling evidence that makes the difference between simply winning your case and receiving maximum compensation.
Compensation for Nursing Home Fall Victims and Their Families
Pennsylvania law gives all residents the right to seek compensation for their losses in nursing home fall cases. Just like with any other personal injury case, the compensation someone receives depends on a wide range of factors, but it is generally the sum of three different types of damages.
Economic damages, also known as special damages, are the easiest to calculate. In most nursing home cases, this typically only includes medical expenses and potentially funeral costs, as other common types of economic damages, such as lost wages and property damage, are usually not applicable here.
The other primary type of damages is non-economic damages, which include factors such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life, all of which are harder to calculate.
In extreme cases, nursing home fall victims and their families may also be entitled to punitive damages. While rare, if the nursing home acted with gross negligence or even malicious intent, these damages will be awarded to punish the nursing home and deter others from acting similarly in the future.
HoeyLegal: The Leading Nursing Home Abuse Attorney in Chester County
No matter when a nursing home fall occurs, our team here at HoeyLegal is always ready to act quickly to ensure that you and your family get fair and just compensation for your losses. We understand the urgency of these situations, and we’ll always go above and beyond to ensure that you have the trusted advocate you need during such difficult times.
Our expert legal team has decades of experience handling nursing home abuse and negligence cases, and we take great pride in holding nursing homes accountable when they fail to fulfill their legal responsibilities. We’ve won tens of millions of dollars for our clients over the years, and with multiple Best Attorney Awards under our belts, our proven track record of success speaks for itself.
Every nursing home fall case is unique, and we promise to give your case the personalized attention it deserves, regardless of the circumstances. You don’t even have to pay a cent unless we get money for you, so don’t trust anyone but the best nursing home abuse attorney that Chester County has to offer. Choose HoeyLegal and guarantee your compensation today.
Contact HoeyLegal Today
Did one of your loved ones fall and injure themselves in a nursing home? Are you looking for an expert Chester County nursing home fall lawyer who can help you and your loved ones get the compensation they deserve? Contact HoeyLegal by phone or visit our website at hoeylegal.com.
Our team of legal experts is always here to answer your questions and will be happy to discuss how we can help you and your family achieve your compensation goals. All you have to do is call, and we’ll offer you a complimentary legal consultation to help us understand your case and provide guidance on the best path forward.
No one wants to see their loved ones put in harm’s way, but when that happens, our team is always here to fight for you until the very end. Don’t push off pursuing your case any longer. Call HoeyLegal and get the expert Chester County nursing home abuse attorney you need to win your case today!