Every year the typical nursing home will report approximately 1.5 falls per bed, and most falls go unreported. In fact, studies show that 75% of nursing home residents will fall at least once in a year, and nearly one-third of those involve a resident who is deemed non-ambulatory. Sadly, approximately 1,800 people living a nursing facility die every year due to a fall.
Can falls be prevented? Yes, and they should be. With proper care planning, many if not most falls can be prevented in the skilled nursing setting. For example, each resident must be accurately assessed on a regular basis for risk of falling, and when there is a fall, proper assessment must be performed to determine the cause of the fall, and how another might be prevented in the future.
In addition, physical changes in the nursing home can help prevent falls, including the placement of grab bars, lowering beds, and raising toilet seats. Bed alarms can also prevent a fall in a resident who is a known risk.
Yet, in our experience, many homes fail to take appropriate precautions after a resident is deemed a fall risk.
Not every fall is due to nursing home negligence, but many are. The nursing home abuse lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP have litigated numerous cases involving injury causing falls in the nursing home setting, usually after the facility has failed to take appropriate measures after an initial fall. If you have questions about care in the nursing home, please contact Walton Law Firm LLP for a free and confidential consultation.