When a loved one is no longer able to care for themselves without assistance. It’s time to consider some difficult decisions about how to ensure they are safe and healthy. This can be one of the hardest discussions you can have in your life, especially if your elderly relative is resistant to assistance. But you must make the best choice based on your loved one’s health conditions. While some individuals will thrive with just a home health nurse, others with more advanced medical needs may need to be placed in a nursing home or assisted living facility, where they can be cared for by healthcare professionals on a 24-hour basis. However, this decision comes with its risks: the possibility of medical neglect in a place meant to support and nurture your relative.
Nursing home abuse is far more widespread than people may realize, with the National Council on Aging estimating that up to five million elderly Americans are abused per year. While some of this may be physical violence, much can be described as neglect. Where substandard living conditions and understaffing endanger residents. This often manifests as inexplicable injuries, and an incredibly common one is falling. Up to 36% of preventable emergency room visits from nursing homes are related to falls. Approximately 1,800 nursing home residents die each year as a direct result of falls.
How is nursing home neglect responsible for falls, and how can these same nursing homes be held responsible for this abuse? Here, we’ll discuss the reasons why falls correlate with neglect. And how to seek justice for a loved one injured in a nursing home.
How are falls in nursing homes related to neglect?
Falls in nursing homes can be caused by a variety of factors, many of which may be directly tied to poor living conditions.
Lack of Supervision: Substandard nursing homes are often understaffed, which can lead to inadequate supervision of residents. Without proper monitoring, residents may attempt to move around the facility without assistance, increasing the likelihood of falls.
Unsafe Living Conditions: Nursing homes should be kept clean, free of obstacles, and well lit to assist residents in moving about. If a nursing home is cluttered and poorly lit, residents may slip, trip, or fall on wet floors or objects left on the floor.
Delayed Medical Attention: Any injury in a nursing home should be treated as serious. It should spur immediate medical attention to ensure that there are no fractures, sprains, or infections. However, neglectful nursing homes may not check on patients regularly, which delays assistance for an injured person. This can cause serious complications and even death.
While not every fall in a nursing home is related to neglect, many are, which is why you must seek professional help if a loved one has been injured in a nursing home. This can mean the difference between life and death not just for your relative. But others who are in the nursing home’s care.
You must seek legal counsel if a loved one has fallen in a nursing home
Hearing that a loved one has been seriously injured in a fall is traumatizing, and it leads to great heartache for your entire family. However, it can also cause great financial hardship if you have to pay for expensive surgery. Or, tragically, a funeral for your relative. This is why you must seek the advice of an experienced nursing home fall lawyer. Who can examine the case and negotiate with the nursing home on your behalf?
Furthermore, a personal injury lawyer will review all the facts of the injury, including the living conditions within the nursing home that may have led to the fall. They’ll contact the nursing home and the facility’s insurers for you.
So that you can focus entirely on caring for your loved one as they recuperate from this injury. They will ensure that you receive a fair settlement that will pay for your relative’s medical treatment. The best thing about a personal injury lawyer is that. Because they have extensive experience in these kinds of cases, they will consider future costs as well. Which will greatly ease the financial burden as your elderly relative heals.
Any nursing home fall should be taken seriously and investigated to ensure that it is not the result of neglect. If it’s found that the nursing home is responsible for your relative’s injury. They should be held accountable for this grievous oversight. And they should have to pay for any costs associated with their poor care. That’s why you should always contact a personal injury lawyer if your loved one falls in a nursing home. You may just shine a light on poor conditions that may prevent others from being harmed in the same way.