Florida Nursing Home Lawyer Blog
Spinal cord injuries, more than most other types, have the potential to cause significant, profound and devastating disabilities and limitations. Nursing homes that agree to care for patients with spinal cord injuries have responsibility to ensure their patients receive the appropriate level of care. The state and federal government often pays much more for these patients to receive a higher degree of care, and Fort Lauderdale spinal cord injury attorneys know nursing homes that don’t provide it can be deemed liable if it results in further injury, loss of life quality or an untimely death.
It is possible some spinal cord injuries might actually be caused by negligent nursing home case, such as in a fall where aides or nurses failed to properly assist in toileting or getting in and out of bed.
However, it’s not among the more common injuries associated with nursing homes. More frequently, those with serious spinal cord injuries may be cared for – temporarily or permanently – in such a facility, but due to lack of mobility and independence and lack of sensation in certain areas of the body, they are more vulnerable to the same injury and illness risks all other nursing home patients face. This is especially true for those with quadriplegia, wherein all limbs are affected, as opposed to paraplegia, where only one’s legs are immobile. Those with a complete spinal cord injury (where there is a total severing of the cord) also are at higher risk than those with incomplete spinal cord injuries, as the latter may still retain some sensation and mobility. Continue reading →