When your loved one is in a nursing home, it is never easy. Someone else is caring for them, there might be restricted visiting hours, and it might not ever feel quite like home for the resident. That said, there are many very good reasons why the resident is in a nursing home. The facilities are supposed to be equipped to help the resident maintain a high quality of life.

A nursing home has a responsibility to care for every resident and do everything in its power to prevent slip and fall accidents. If your loved one as had a slip and fall, contact our personal injury team, so we can help you through the processes.

Care Facility Responsibility

Certainly not every fall is preventable, but the majority of them are. We need to look at the root cause of why the person fell, and what the facility could have done to prevent it.

Was an employee negligent?

• People reside in nursing homes because they are ill or elderly, and they need extra help with daily activities.
• Did the care facility create an adequate care plan for the specific resident?
• Each person is different. What works for Joe might not work for Jane.
• Each resident should have a unique care plan. Is that plan actively monitored?
• Are employees doing everything possible for that specific resident?

Frequently, the nurses and aides at a facility need to move a resident from a wheelchair to a bed or to the bathroom. If these moves are done incorrectly, the resident could have a slip and fall in which responsibility would rest on the facility for inadequately training its employees.

The care plan for a resident needs to evaluate different things for each patient like:

• General strength and mobility
• Medications – some can cause dizziness or drowsiness, which could cause falls if not properly managed by staff members
• Dementia
• Impaired vision.

Any of the above reasons could cause a slip and fall, but that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable.

Nursing homes should be trained to monitor each resident and prevent slips and falls.

Medical Bills, Pain and Suffering

One of the hardest parts of a slip and fall case is dealing with medical bills and the pain that comes with being injured. If you or a loved one as experienced a personal injury as a result of a nursing home slip and fall, let us help you.

Even if insurance covers all the medical bills, they will not cover the emotional pain and suffering that both the resident has experienced, and the trauma that the resident’s family has experienced. We have expertly navigated several cases just like this one, and know how to negotiate for the right amount based on pain and suffering of all involved.

Perhaps the worst part of a nursing home slip and fall is that the resident and his family trusted the facility and its staff to take care of him. Nursing homes should be skilled at caring for residents. Preventing slip and falls should be one of their top priorities.
Aside from the medical bills and insurance snafus that you must deal with, you also now face a lack of trust in the facility.

Should the resident move? What will prevent this from happening again? In addition to working on the personal injury monetary benefits you are entitled to, we will also investigate the facility’s history. Has this happened before? If it is an isolated incident, maybe there is no reason to be concerned about it repeating itself. But, if it has happened before, we will do a deep dive into if there is more to be done to prevent another slip and fall from happening in the future.

How our attorneys can help

Personal injury law and everything related to slip and falls is our area of expertise. We can traverse the legal system inside and out, which will help to ensure you and your loved ones are taken care of legally.

There is no shame in experiencing a slip and fall at a nursing home. We will work with you and your loved ones to ensure that not only are you compensated accordingly, but the facility is not susceptible to having this occur again.

You are also liable to experience some hiccups with insurance companies. We are experts in dealing with insurance companies. Let us deal with the insurance red tape while you and your loved ones rest and heal from this incident.

What should you do now?

Focus on getting better, or helping your loved one get better. Do not make any rash decisions like transferring the resident from one nursing home to another. You could end up at a worse nursing home!

You should take this time to note any changes in the resident’s behavior both before and after the incident. Could there be a medical reason this occurred that the nursing staff missed or ignored? Was the resident behaving normally? How is he behaving now?

Make sure the resident gets the proper medical treatment required afterwards. Do not fret about medical bills, as we will make sure they are paid for. The most important thing right now is to take care of the resident’s health and well-being.

Do not reach out to the nursing home directly. This could impede upon any legal proceedings. Work with us and we will handle any and all communications with the nursing home and their legal team.

This does not mean you should stay away from visiting the resident. Just do not speak with staff members about the incident unless it is to ensure the resident is being cared for.

Contact our team of personal injury attorneys with any questions you have. We are happy to answer anything on your mind, and we are here to help you through the process. This might be the first time you are dealing with a slip and fall injury at a nursing home, but we have done this many times and are here to help you.