nursing home fall

Published on: May 16, 2018

Nursing Home Falls Often Indicator of Negligence

Injuries resulting from falls are the reason for almost 40 percent of all preventable hospital visits by nursing home residents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Too many of these falls go underreported. Even when they are reported, there is a false assumption that it’s simply a part of normal aging. It’s not. The risk of falls in nursing homes can and should be substantially minimized with proper policy and procedure, adequate staffing, the right equipment and appropriate supervision.

But the numbers tell us far too many nursing homes are failing when it comes to fall prevention.

Just recently, a Massachusetts nurse whom state health officials cited for failure to properly attend a nursing home patient who suffered a fatal fall agreed to surrender his license for three years (after which time he could re-apply for it). However, The Worcester Telegram reports the nurse failed to sign off on the resolution prior to the deadline, so now it’s unclear if he’s still holding his license. Part of the agreement was that he would concede that while working as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) at a nursing home, he did not properly assess a patient who had fallen and he also failed to document or report the fall. This admission would have been acknowledgment that his conduct was not aligned with standards set forth by the state board of nursing. Continue reading →

Published on: September 3, 2017

Nursing Home Accused of Not Reporting Elderly Patient Fall for 10 Days

By Dean Freeman

A lawsuit recently filed in North Carolina alleges an elderly woman suffered in agony for 10 days with a broken hip after suffering a fall that went untreated and unreported by her nursing home.

According to local media reports, plaintiff was a known fall risk when she was admitted to the facility, and there was even an alarm on her wheelchair intended to notify staffers if she were to get up.

Plaintiff alleges she called for an attendant to help her to the bathroom. However, there was no response, and as nature called, she decided to get up on her own. As she did so, she slipped and fell. This resulted in serious injury. Continue reading →

Published on: May 11, 2017

Nursing Home Fall Lawsuit Felled by Statute of Limitations

By Dean Freeman

A federal court affirmed a summary judgment in favor of a federally-run nursing home that was accused of negligence in the wrongful death of an elderly resident who fell while unsupervised. The reason plaintiff could not prevail, despite filing the case within the applicable state statute of limitations for wrongful death actions, was that it was the federal statute of limitations that actually applied.

As justices for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit wrote: “To be sure, it is unfortunate when a potentially important claim is lost because a deadline is missed.” Nonetheless, the court wrote, it’s the necessary result when a claimant fails to properly assert the claim within the designated statute of limitations, without which claims would be filed long after the ability to recreate what happened would be feasible.

Although this is understandable, it is a nonetheless disappointing outcome, and one that underscores the importance of immediately seeking a consultation with an experienced nursing home injury lawyer at the first suspicion that negligence may have been the cause of a a nursing home injury or death. Continue reading →