What Can I do about Nursing Home Falls and Neglect?
Each year, the average nursing home reports approximately 200 incidents of patients sustaining injuries from falls. It is suspected there are many more incidents of falls that are not reported.
Elderly patients are four times more likely to sustain fatal injuries in falls if they live in a nursing home compared to elderly people who live on their own or with family.
Approximately 75 percent of nursing home patients fall each year, double than the number of elderly who do not live in nursing homes. More than one-third of those falls happen to patients who are unable to walk.
A skilled nursing home lawyer in Wheaton, MD knows all too well that falls can cause serious injuries or even death to nursing home patients. Many of these falls are preventable and are only due to the negligence of nursing home staff who fail to keep watch over these at-risk patients. If your loved one has been injured in a fall, contact a trusted nursing home abuse attorneys for help.
When a nursing home admits a new patient, they are required to document all of the patient's physical limitations and provide that information for nursing home staff. It is also up to the facility to ensure that a patient has any and all equipment they need to get around safely, such as canes, walkers, or wheelchairs.
An experienced nursing home lawyer from Wheaton, MD will likely tell you that in addition to the proper equipment, the facility and its staff are responsible for making sure that there are no hazards or dangers that could cause a patient to fall. Should a patient fall, the family should be provided with a reasonable and acceptable explanation. If the facility should fail to do so, that is often a red flag that there may be something serious going on, such as neglect or abuse of patients.
A good nursing home lawyer Wheaton, MD residents count on may also suggest that fall injuries can be devastating to a victim, often leading to other serious medical conditions. For example, one of the most common and painful type of fall injuries, hip fractures, often result in the victim developing infections, which can be fatal.
If you suspect your loved one is being abused or neglected by nursing home staff, contact Cohen & Cohen, P.C.. It is critical that you speak with a nursing home abuse attorney right away in order to protect your elderly loved one. We will direct you in which local and state agencies need to be contacted, as well as if law enforcement should be notified. Once your loved one is out of harm's way, we can take the steps to file a lawsuit against the nursing home facility in order to seek justice and financial compensation for your loved one's pain and suffering.