You entrusted the health, safety, and well-being of your loved one to a nursing home; then you got a phone call saying that they fell and broke a hip. The nursing home rushed your loved one to the hospital by ambulance. They needed surgery to repair the fracture. Your loved one had to undergo a long and painful recuperation. One of the primary methods for preventing falls is to determine who is a risk for falling. Elderly nursing home residents can suffer considerable injuries if they fall. For this reason, fall prevention must always remain a priority at these facilities.
Ways to Prevent Nursing Home Falls
There are so many precautions that can be taken to prevent fall injuries from happening in the first place. Some of the best ways to prevent nursing home falls include…
Every resident should have a completed risk assessment which includes past accidents and falls, medications are taken, and general physical health.
Nursing home staff should always be attentive to residents, and the proper equipment should always be available to those who need help walking. These residents should always receive the proper foot care, shoes, and the appropriate walking aids.
Staff members should be properly trained on fall prevention strategies as well as the risks involved when a resident falls.
Nursing homes should never have environmental hazards, and if any occur, they should be removed immediately. Environmental hazards consist of poor lighting, slippery floors, debris in walkways, improper exit signs, broken equipment, and more.
Nursing homes should be careful to avoid incorrect bed heights and faulty bed rails. Faulty bed rails and incorrect bed height account for close to 30 percent of nursing home falls nationwide.
Exercise programs, including physical therapy, stretching, and balance should be available to all residents. Although statistics show that exercises may not help with falls, they will help to improve strength and balance which can help lessen injuries should a fall occur.
When a Resident Has a Fall
Although it is impossible to prevent 100 percent of falls in nursing homes, many falls happen because of mistakes on the part of the nursing home policies or policies for the staff. Approximately 1,800 nursing home residents each year can be attributed to fall-related injuries. Adults 65 and older are four times more likely to die of fall-related injuries if they live in nursing homes compared to those that live at home or with loved ones. After a fall the patient should receive an evaluation to determine if they are any injuries. They may need follow-up care. One fall might not signal a serious issue, multiple falls may come from negligence or even abuse.
Should Legal Action Be Taken?
Nursing home fall lawyers will hold the caregiver responsible following patient falls in nursing homes throughout Kentucky resulting from neglect or inattention. A successful lawsuit can help pay for medical care and future treatment, and also helps prevent the same type of harm from happening to another resident in the future. If you suspect that your family member or loved one’s broken bones were the result of inattention or neglect, a lawyer can help. Taking steps to determine what is going on and to protect the residents from future harm is imperative.
We Help Clients With Personal Injuries
After suffering from an injury as the result of someone else’s wrongdoing, your priority as our client is to focus on healing. Whether you were in a car wreck or slip-and-fall accident, you may be entitled to collect for damages you sustained. We will handle your case from start to finish and walk you through each step in the process. > Learn More
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About Grubbs & Landry
At Grubbs & Landry, PLLC, we are dedicated to personal and friendly service. We manage our practice in an ethical, cost-effective manner to best help our clients resolve their legal issues with the least expense possible. We pride ourselves in advocating for our client in divorce, child custody, and child support matters as well as other family law matters. We are active in prosecuting personal injury cases-recovering for the injuries our clients sustain due to the negligence of others. Additionally, we help our clients prepare for the future through the preparation of Wills, Power of Attorney and Living Will. >> Learn More
