Falls in the Nursing Home - Negligence & Liability

Has a parent or loved one suffered serious injury due to a fall, or repeated falls, while a resident of a Texas nursing home?

Our Dallas lawyers may be able to help your family file an injury claim in order to recover compensation for their medical bills, pain and suffering, and more. Call us today at (214) 651-6100 for a free consultation. No fees unless we win!

Falls among the elderly are a serious concern on account of balance issues as well as the frailty that come with age. That being said, many falls can be prevented—especially in a nursing home setting—if management puts in place simple measures to mitigate risks to patients more-susceptible to falls (e.g., those with balance issues, a history of falls, etc).

Falls can have serious consequences for the elderly, even if they seem relatively minor at first. What might seem like a simple contusion can lead to life-threatening conditions such as a blood clotting, seizures, or rhabdomyolysis, which can result in kidney failure.

Many times, nursing home falls result in obvious trauma including head injuries and compound fractures of the hip, pelvis, arms, legs, or wrists. Such an event can trigger a downward spiral in their health, leading to limited mobility, chronic pain, complications from surgery, and even wrongful death.

If you feel as though your loved one's fall should have been prevented by nursing home staff, or believe that the staff's negligence (e.g., failure to treat) resulted in further harm, we urge you to call us for a free consultation at (214) 651-6100. We're happy to look into the facts of your case and explain your options moving forward, and our law firm operates on a strict no-win, no-fee basis.

Preventing falls, and a nursing home's duty of care.

Nursing home residents are owed a certain "duty of care" by staff and caretakers. By law, these facilities must provide reasonable care to protect patients from harm, and provide them with a safe environment.

A nursing home patient's fall risk should be assessed in various ways, including:

• Evaluating a resident’s balance and strength.
• Identifying vision problems.
• Taking a patient's history of falls into consideration.
• Identifying medical conditions, such as dementia, which may increase the risk of a fall.

There are a number of things a nursing home can do to prevent falls, including:

• Properly training employees to identify risk factors.
• Adding cushioned surfaces in dangerous areas.
• Giving medications that may cause dizziness closer to bedtime.
• Providing a walker or assisted-mobility device.
• Providing rails and grab bars within easy reach.
• Providing beds, toilets, chairs, and wheelchairs with restraints or other safety modifications.

If a nursing home resident is known to be at risk of a fall, measures should be taken both to reasonably limit said risk, and to increase monitoring so that any fall injuries can be identified and treated as soon as possible. Failing in this regard not only puts residents at an unnecessary risk of harm, it can open the facility up to liability.

What can a lawyer do for us?

Our law firm exists to help people who've been injured (or the families of those wrongfully killed) pursue the justice and compensation they deserve. It's all we do, and over the past 30 years we've built an impressive track record of success.

We understand the pain, turmoil, and frustration such an injury can cause, and our goal is to help shoulder some of the burden. You should be focused on family at a time like this, but it's also vitally important to begin an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fall. As time passes, evidence disappears and memories fade. Our job is to handle your claim with your best interests in mind.

Call our Dallas personal injury attorneys today at (214) 651-6100 for a free consultation. We're happy to look into the facts of your case and advise you of your family's options moving forward for no cost. In fact, we never charge a penny for our services unless (and until) we actually win your case!