Navigating Nursing Home Falls
While not all falls are preventable, long-term care settings should have assessments regarding whether or not falls in their facility could have been prevented. Appropriate measures need to be taken to ensure that patients are safe at all times. Such interventions may include alarms on beds, alarms on chairs, lap buddies, transfer with appropriate equipment from bed to chair and vice versa, floor mats at edges of beds, lower beds so that if patients do fall out of bed they’re less likely to be injured, and other appropriate measures.
All fall-related injuries need to be thoroughly evaluated and investigated
There needs to be a full understanding of what happened, and why. Oftentimes the nursing home staff will try to cover up a fall that occurred due to their neglect. Interventions should be taken to ensure that all proper care was taken at all times for injured patients. At Sinclair Law Offices, we understand what goes into a lawsuit to make it successful regarding nursing home neglect. We know how to protect patients rights and interests during every step of the process.
Nursing Home Falls
Too frequently, falls are only the tip of the claim. There are post-fall assessments that need to be taken as well as medical attention in a timely fashion. While falls may not be preventable, many are due to an unfortunate situation that can’t be changed. Patients may require further medical attention due to injuries which may include broken bones, infections, intracranial bleeding and more. Many of these will go untreated if follow-up care after a fall isn’t taken. Loved ones may lose their mobility and family members may begin to question what is truly going on. This is neglect.
Possible Causes Of Nursing Home Fall Injuries
- Improper transfer from bed to chair to wheelchair
- Ignoring the fact that a patient has osteoporosis
- Poorly fitting footwear
- Poor care of feet
- Environmental hazards like equipment left in the way
- Failure to use bed/chair alarms or bedrails.
Fall & Fracture Prevention
Fall and fracture prevention should start with the patient and extend to staffing and organizational employee levels. Families need to ask what the policies are at the facility where their loved one may reside prior to admission.
Effective Intervention Includes
Utilizing hip pads to prevent hip fractures should a resident fall. Exercise activities that will improve their balance and strength prior to a fall. Review all medications to ensure that they don’t put patients at a higher risk for a fall. If you think that your loved ones fall is due to neglect or could have been prevented, we’re here to help you. Give us a call today and let’s discuss what your options are for your loved one. We’ll give you a free evaluation. Tell us what happened and we’ll take it from there.