One of the more harrowing aspects of negligent nursing homes is the number of slip and fall accidents that often occur. These accidents are, ultimately, preventable and often constitute negligence on the part of the nursing home.
How Slip and Falls Cause Serious Harm to Elderly Residents
Slips are common in nursing homes. What you may not know is that they are completely preventable in most cases. If a nursing home has a resident who is a fall risk or high fall risk, staff are supposed to put together a care plan to prevent falls. That plan could include a variety of things and depends upon the circumstances surrounding that resident.
Sometimes residents take medication that makes them dizzy, and if that is the case, then staff should put together a care plan to prevent falls that are commonly associated with the dizzying side effects of that particular medicine.
Sometimes, residents are prone to falling out of bed. To account for this, staff should lower the bed to its lowest level and place a mat on the floor so that if somebody does fall out of bed, they are not falling as far and they can land on something soft.
Cases Involving Slips and Asphyxiation
Sometimes, the nursing home staff do not use bedrails on their residents’ beds. This is a big deal, as it can lead to bedrail asphyxiation.
In these cases, a bedrail is propped up but the mattress or bed is too small. Residents can slip between the gap in the bed and bedrail and accidentally hang themselves. It is a devastating occurrence, but it unfortunately happens and can be prevented.
Continual Injuries and Signs of Negligence
While you may not be trained to inspect the quality of a nursing home, there are certain “red flags” that you should keep an eye out for. Incidents of continual falls, for example, should stand out to you as evidence that a nursing home is not taking adequate precautions to protect its residents.
Speak to a Dedicated Trial Lawyer Today
We trust that the nursing home we select for our loved ones takes care of our family members in the manner they need and deserve. Far too often this is not the case. When a nursing home elects to value profit over the care of its residents, accidents happen.
If your loved one sustained a serious injury after a fall, then you need to think about taking steps toward holding the responsible parties accountable for their actions. Call today to start a confidential consultation.