Nursing Home Slip & Falls

Nursing homes in the United States are meant to be sanctuaries for rest, comfort and safety; a place where our elderly loved ones can focus on recovery, rehabilitation and maintaining healthy living. Despite their efforts, nursing homes continue to fall short of quality elder care. Many institutions have fallen victim to financial cutbacks, resulting in fewer qualified professionals on duty, medical errors and negligence. Nursing homes staff are stretched too thin and their residents suffer because of it. With fewer staff members monitoring residents, slip and fall accidents have increased exponentially.

What Causes Slip and Fall Accidents in Nursing Homes?

• Medication errors: because nursing home staff are stretched thin, it becomes difficult to manage multiple medication schedules, resulting in improper prescription doses, medication given to the wrong patient. When a resident is given the improper medication, the resident’s blood pressure could drop causing them to feel dizzy and faint.

• Negligence: it is the job of nursing homes and their staff to provide the best quality of care to each resident. Failure to care or provide service, protection of harm, injury or any other dangerous situation can cause anxiety and harm to the individual.

• Malnutrition and Dehydration: the foundation of good health is a proper healthy diet. Because our elderly loved ones are dependent on others for help, they need assistance with eating and drinking. Negligent nursing home staff will often ignore requests or will not consistently provide aid to their residents. Additionally, negligent nursing home staff members will deprive food and water to patients as a form of punishment. When weakened residents are denied basic food and water, the slip and fall risks increase.

• Wandering Off/ Elopement: Leaner nursing home crews increase the chances of your loved one wandering off the premises and getting injured. Slip and fall accidents are inevitable if a resident wanders off the premises undetected, causing longer health care utility.

What To Do If You Suspect Nursing Home Negligence:

• Be sure to document the date, time and place you become aware of your loved one’s injury.

• Ask your loved one how, why and where the fell. How they were feeling? Anything that relates to the circumstances leading up to and following their fall.

• Note signs of physical struggle such as bruises and redness.

• Document patterns of neglect and abuse around the facility. Often times, nursing home staff will not be able to provide adequate explanation and documentation of injuries.

Whether you suspect or know of nursing home negligence or abuse, it is crucial to the health of your loved one and other residents that you report it immediately. Nursing home injuries and negligence occurs more often than you might think, which is why it is so important to consult an attorney.