Fall risk is one of the top reasons that families move older adults into nursing homes. They worry about someone getting hurt when there is no one to provide them with physical assistance for dressing, bathing or moving around the house.
The employees staffing a nursing home can help an older adult handle daily responsibilities to minimize their risk of falling and sustaining serious injuries. Even when workers conduct consistent fall assessments, check on residents regularly and strive to meet their needs, older adults living in nursing homes can still fall and sustain serious injuries.
Mistakes can lead to injuries
Failing to respond to a request for support or to check on a resident for hours could constitute negligence. However, people can fall minutes after interacting with nursing home workers.
Instead of asking for assistance or waiting for someone to arrive, they may take matters into their own hands. Older adults can potentially fall when attending to hygiene needs, trying to move through the space or performing any other action that typically requires a support of the caregiving professional.
Although facilities can reduce the risk of falls by conducting regular assessments and having staff members readily available to support residents with daily needs, they cannot prevent people from choosing to engage in certain behaviors without the assistance of nursing home workers. Internal records can help validate that the facility adhered to all relevant laws and care standards.
Discussing both fall prevention and litigation response with a nursing home defense attorney can help those running nursing homes protect a facility’s reputation and finances against claims brought over a fall that may ultimately be either no one’s fault, or the fault of a resident, not the facility.
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