What Liability Do Nursing Homes Have When a Resident Falls?

Falls, for older Americans, are one of those occurrences that can shatter their quality of life. Falls, according to the National Council on Aging (NCOA) fatal and non-fatal injuries for older Americans. The CDC reports that one in four Americans over age 65 falls each year, and every 11 seconds, an adult is treated in the emergency room for a fall; every 19 minutes, an older adult dies from a fall. The financial toll for elderly falls is expected to increase as the population ages and could reach $67.6 billion by 2020.

September 21, is National Falls Prevention Awareness Day, which is an opportunity for states to host and promote falls prevention awareness and screening activities to draw attention to the problem and offer solutions. In 2016, 41 states and the District of Columbia participated in National Falls Prevention Awareness Day.

Falling is not a normal part of aging

The Center on Aging at Miami University Miller School of Medicine reports that falling is not a normal part of aging, the risk of falling can be minimized and that falling may be an early sign of illness. Unfortunately, about 50% of nursing home residents fall each year with 10-25% suffering serious injuries from those falls. Rates of falls in nursing homes and hospitals are approximately 3 times the rate of falls among older people who live in the community.

Nursing home liability for resident falls

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reports that in Maryland, 1.7 to 4.5% of nursing homes have residents with a recent injurious fall, which is a fall that has occurred since admission to the nursing home, or the most recent MDS assessment.

Families often make the difficult choice to admit their loved one to a skilled nursing facility because they feel that they will be safer there and have more supervision and care than they can give at home. Then, when they get the news that their loved one has taken a fall and has suffered a serious injury, they begin to question the wisdom of their choice. They might also wonder what liability the nursing home might have in their loved one’s injury.

Part of the nursing home’s duty of care to residents is to keep them safe and prevent injuries such as falls. A risk assessment should be conducted for every new resident and a care plan is developed from the results of the assessment. Part of that plan is a fall prevention care plan, which should be evaluated on a regular basis.

A nursing home may not be able to prevent 100% of falls that might occur, when a senior suffers a serious injury because of a fall that could have been prevented, the nursing home may be held liable for the injury or wrongful death that might ensue.

If your loved one was injured because of nursing home negligence, we are here to protect their rights to pursue compensation. With more than 35 years of experience serving families throughout Maryland, you can trust our compassionate nursing home negligence attorneys at Plaxen Adler Muncy, P.A. to be a strong advocate for you. Please call 410-730-7737 or fill out our contact form to schedule a free consultation now.

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