A Fall Is Rarely “Just an Accident”
In nursing homes, falls are one of the most common and most devastating events a resident can experience. While facilities may describe a fall as unavoidable, many occur after clear warning signs were ignored.
Residents who are elderly, medically fragile, cognitively impaired, or recovering from illness require individualized fall prevention plans. When staffing is thin, supervision is inconsistent, or care plans are not followed, the risk of serious harm rises sharply.
A preventable fall can lead to catastrophic injury within seconds.
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Why Nursing Home Residents Are at High Risk
Many residents enter long term care with conditions that increase fall risk, including:
- Mobility limitations or muscle weakness
- Balance disorders
- Dementia or confusion
- Medication side effects
- Recent surgery or hospitalization
- History of prior falls
These risks are not surprises. Federal and state regulations require nursing homes to assess fall risk on admission and regularly thereafter. Facilities must implement care plans that address supervision, assistive devices, environmental safety, and medication management.
When those protections are not in place, a fall becomes foreseeable.
The Consequences of a Preventable Fall
Falls in nursing homes frequently result in life altering injuries, including:
- Hip fractures
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Subdural hematomas
- Spinal cord injuries
- Internal bleeding
- Loss of mobility and independence
For elderly residents, even a single fracture can trigger a rapid decline. Complications such as infections, blood clots, pneumonia, or surgical complications can follow. In many cases, a fall marks the beginning of a downward spiral that ends in wrongful death.
What began as a lack of supervision can become a fatal chain reaction.
How These Falls happen?
According to the CDC, 16–27 percent of nursing home falls are due to environmental hazards such as wet floors, poor lighting, incorrect bed height and improperly fitted or maintained wheelchairs.
However, it isn’t just environmental hazards that contribute to falls in nursing homes. Negligence contributing to falls may comprise:
- Failure to monitor residents
- Failure to supervise at-risk residents walking in the facility
- Failure to use proper safeguards
- Improper assessment of fall risk
- Damaged or defective walking aids
- Bed rail malfunction
- Undertrained staff
- Improper transfer methods and positioning of residents with limited mobility
- Medication errors or change in medication — drugs which affect the central nervous system like sedatives and anxiolytics are of particular concern, and significantly increase the risk of falls for up to three days after any change
What Fall Protection Should Look Like
Proper fall prevention requires more than bed alarms or occasional rounding. Effective protection often includes:
- Individualized fall risk assessments
- Updated and documented care plans
- Adequate staffing levels
- Timely assistance with transfers and toileting
- Proper use of walkers, wheelchairs, and other mobility aids
- Environmental safety measures such as clear walkways and appropriate lighting
- Medication reviews to identify drugs that increase dizziness or sedation
- Close monitoring after a prior fall
When these steps are skipped or inconsistently applied, residents are left vulnerable.
How McEldrew Purtell Investigates Fall Cases
Fall cases require careful reconstruction. Our team examines:
- Admission assessments and fall risk scores
- Care plans and updates
- Staffing levels at the time of the fall
- Call light response times
- Medication administration records
- Surveillance footage when available
- Incident reports and internal investigations
We work to determine whether the fall was truly unavoidable or the result of preventable failures.
These cases are about more than compensation. They are about accountability and preventing the same harm from happening to someone else.
Speak With a Nursing Home Neglect Attorney
If your loved one suffered a serious injury or died after a fall in a nursing home, you deserve answers. Facilities often move quickly to limit exposure. Early investigation can preserve critical evidence.
McEldrew Purtell represents families in catastrophic injury and wrongful death claims involving nursing home falls and lack of fall protection.
Contact us to discuss what happened and to understand your legal options.
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