Holding Nursing Homes Accountable for Fractures and Unexplained Trauma

A broken hip. A fractured arm. Head trauma with no clear explanation. When a nursing home resident suffers a serious injury and staff cannot explain how it happened, that silence is often the first warning sign of neglect.

Broken bones and unwitnessed injuries are rarely “just accidents.” In many cases, they point to missed supervision, unsafe conditions, or systemic failures that leave vulnerable residents unprotected. These injuries can permanently alter a resident’s quality of life or lead to fatal complications.

Fractures That Should Never Have Happened

Elderly and medically fragile residents depend on nursing homes to manage risks that are well known, preventable, and documented. When a resident suffers a fracture, especially one that is unwitnessed, it raises serious questions about whether the facility was doing its job.

Common warning signs include:

• Injuries occurring during supposed routine care or transfers
• Conflicting or incomplete incident reports
• Delays in notifying family members or seeking medical treatment
• Staff claiming they “do not know” how a serious injury occurred
• A pattern of falls or injuries involving the same unit or staff

Facilities are required to supervise residents appropriately and to maintain safe environments. When they fail, the consequences can be catastrophic.

How Unwitnessed Injuries Happen

Nursing homes know which residents are at risk for falls and trauma. Care plans are supposed to address those risks. When an injury occurs anyway, it is often because the plan was ignored or understaffed.

Contributing factors frequently include:

• Inadequate staffing or untrained aides
• Failure to assist with transfers, toileting, or mobility
• Unsafe room layouts or poorly maintained floors
• Broken equipment or missing safety devices
• Lack of monitoring for high fall risk residents

When no one sees what happened, the facility still bears responsibility for preventing the harm.

Speak With a Nursing Home Injury Attorney

If your loved one suffered a broken bone or unexplained injury in a nursing home, you are not wrong to question the explanation you were given. These cases deserve careful investigation, not dismissal.

McEldrew Purtell represents families in nursing home abuse and neglect cases involving catastrophic injury and wrongful death. We pursue answers, accountability, and justice when a facility’s failures change a family forever. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.