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At a certain point in life, it may become necessary for a person to move to a nursing home. There are simply times when it is no longer safe for an older person to live independently. A nursing home can be a great option in this situation, but not all facilities are created equal.
Nursing homes are required to take precautions to prevent falls. When they fail to take steps to protect their residents from falls, they could be held liable for any injuries that result. Our New York nursing home fall lawyers will advocate for your right to full compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and more.
At the Law Offices of Thomas L. Gallivan, we are fierce advocates for nursing home residents who are harmed due to abuse and neglect. We will work hard to get you the money that you deserve for your injuries, and we will never charge a fee unless we recover money for you. Reach out to our law firm today to schedule a free initial consultation with a New York nursing home fall attorney.
The Risks of Falls for Nursing Home Residents
When a person goes to a nursing home, it is usually for a reason. They might be dealing with health issues or memory problems. Perhaps they are just no longer capable of taking care of themselves and maintaining a house.
Many nursing home residents are at an increased risk of a fall. They might have decreased coordination due to a physical condition or the side effects of medication. They may also suffer from dementia and become disoriented easily.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), falls are incredibly common for adults aged 65 or older. In fact, more than 1 in 4 older people fall each year. More than 1 million older adults are hospitalized each year for injuries related to falls.
The CDC reports that falls are the leading cause of injury for adults aged 65+. These falls often cause serious – and sometimes fatal – injuries. Common fall injuries include:
- Hip fractures
- Traumatic brain injury and concussions
- Spinal cord injury
- Broken bones
- Strains and sprains
- Cuts and abrasions
- Death
A fall can also result in emotional trauma, especially for an older person who may be worried about their frailty as they age. After a fall, a nursing home resident may become fearful of getting hurt again and may limit their activities as a result. This can actually lead to an even greater fall risk, as a lack of physical activity is correlated with reduced physical strength – which can cause more falls.
Nursing Homes’ Obligation to Prevent Falls
Nursing homes have an obligation to implement reasonable fall prevention measures to protect their residents. What is reasonable will depend on the circumstances and the individual resident. For example, a resident with significant coordination issues and dementia will likely require greater protection than someone in overall good physical and mental condition. Nursing homes are required to evaluate each resident to determine their level of fall risk.
If a resident of a nursing home is a fall risk, then the nursing home must develop a fall prevention plan for them. This could include:
- Regularly checking on residents to make sure that their needs are met;
- Using an alarm to alert staff if a resident gets out of bed;
- Placing fall pads around a bed to reduce the potential harm of a fall;
- Keeping beds at a lower level;
- Using a special “scooped” mattress;
- Implementing a toileting schedule; and
- Placing a visual reminder on the doors of residents who are at high risk for falls.
Each of these steps is designed to reduce the risk that a resident will get up out of bed (or from a chair) on their own. For example, using a toileting schedule can lower the likelihood that a resident will need to get out of bed in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. Similarly, regularly checking on a resident at high risk for a fall can cut down on the chances that they will decide to do something for themselves that could result in a fall.
In addition to fall prevention measures that are specific to a particular resident, nursing homes should also implement system-wide fall prevention precautions. This can include making sure that floors are clean, dry, and free of trip hazards (like loose cords or area rugs), using bright lighting, and installing handrails along halls and walkways.
Nursing homes have a heightened duty to protect residents from harm. They are legally obligated to provide a standard of care that meets the needs of their residents. This includes everything from preventing abuse and neglect to protecting vulnerable residents from falls.
When Is a Nursing Home Liable for Falls?
If a nursing home fails to take either basic precautions or measures specific to residents at high risk of falls, they could be liable for any injuries that result. While not every fall is preventable, if a nursing home fails to assess a resident and implement a fall protection protocol, they could be responsible for any injuries that result.
Of course, there may be situations where a fall is just an accident. But because nursing homes owe a special duty of care to their residents, a fall may be a direct result of the facility’s failure to meet that obligation. This could be due to inadequate staffing, poor maintenance, abuse, or neglect.
Nursing homes can be held liable for falls through a personal injury lawsuit. Generally, these cases are brought on a theory of negligent or careless conduct. For nursing homes, negligence is when the facility fails to meet the standard of care for the industry, given the patient’s particular needs.
Negligence has 4 elements:
- Duty: The nursing home (defendant) owed the resident (plaintiff) a duty of care.
- Breach: The nursing home violated that duty in some way, such as by not checking on a resident frequently enough.
- Causation: The nursing home’s violation was the direct cause of the fall.
- Damages: The nursing home resident suffered losses as a result.
Negligence is determined based on the facts of the case. Some of the factors that may be analyzed include:
- Was the resident assessed for fall risks?
- Was the resident considered a fall risk?
- What did the facility do to prevent the resident from falling?
- How did the patient fall?
- Did the resident fall before? If so, did the nursing home change its fall prevention plan to prevent future falls?
A seasoned New York nursing home fall lawyer can analyze the facts of your case to determine if the fall was preventable. They can also offer you legal advice and help you decide how to move forward with a claim.
While more unusual, falls are sometimes caused by intentional conduct. For example, sometimes nursing home abuse includes things like taking away assistive devices such as canes or walkers. If a nursing home resident’s fall was caused by abuse, they can still pursue a civil lawsuit, on top of any criminal charges that may be filed.
How a Top Nursing Home Abuse Law Firm Can Help
Nursing home falls can cause devastating injuries – or even death. In the aftermath, you might not be sure of what your options are. You might think that falls are just something that happens to older people. The nursing home’s administrators might have even blamed your loved one for the fall or chalked it up to their health issues.
While not every nursing home fall is caused by negligence, many are, and the difference isn’t always obvious. An experienced New York nursing home abuse and neglect attorney can help you understand your rights and help you decide on a course of action.
Nursing homes are often large corporations and are represented by even bigger insurance companies. When a resident falls, their goal is to minimize their exposure. They want to pay out as little as possible on a claim. Ideally, they would like for a claim to never be filed – or to find a way to deny it entirely.
As personal injury lawyers, our goal is exactly the opposite. We represent our clients’ best interests, which means that we will fight to get you maximum compensation for your injuries. We won’t simply accept a lowball settlement offer or an allegation that the fall wasn’t preventable.
Instead, we will dig into the facts. We will request medical records, look at staffing reports, view photos and videos of the fall and injuries, interview witnesses, and review the facility’s policies and procedures. We will also talk to experts in the field about how these types of falls happen, rather than taking the nursing home’s contention at face value.
Our strategy is to build a strong factual and legal case for compensation. We know that getting money won’t undo the damage that was caused. However, it can help to provide a cushion for families and help their loved one recover as fully as possible.
For an older person, a fall can cause severe emotional and physical injuries. They may require additional care or may have to be moved to an entirely different facility. Depending on the seriousness of the injury, they may be permanently disabled or even die as a result of their injuries.
If your loved one has been hurt in a nursing home fall, we are here for you. We will advocate for your rights and work to get you the best possible settlement for your losses. If necessary, we will take your case to trial to get you the money that you deserve for your losses.
Hurt in a Nursing Home Fall? Call Our Law Firm Today.
There may come a time in life when you have to place your parent, grandparent, or other family member in a nursing home. If they fall while living at the nursing home, you don’t simply have to accept it as something that happens to older people. In many situations, nursing homes can be held liable for their failure to protect residents from falls.
At the Law Offices of Thomas L. Gallivan, we fight to protect the rights of injury victims throughout New York, including nursing home residents who are harmed by abuse and neglect. Based in White Plains, we are zealous advocates for victims of nursing home falls and their families. Reach out to our law offices today by calling 914-220-1086 or filling out our online contact form to schedule a free initial consultation with a New York nursing home fall lawyer.
