In our last post, we shared details about this year’s Fall Prevention Awareness Week (September 22 – 28, 2018), including details and statistics on how vulnerable older adults are to serious and fatal falls, especially those residing in care facilities or nursing homes.
Bringing greater awareness of the risks facing loved ones entrusted to the care of nursing homes in Indiana and Illinois is critical. Falls in nursing homes and care facilities may be the result of abuse or neglect and must be vigorously investigated.
Danger Rises with the Great Number of Nursing Homes in Illinois and Indiana
As we discussed in an earlier post, Illinois is number four (4) in the list of states with the most nursing homes; Indiana ranks at number eight (8).
Unfortunately, the thriving nursing home industry in our part of the country also means that all too often, profits are placed over people.
Consider the horrendous examples of Chicago’s Wentworth Rehabilitation and Health Care Center; Indiana’s American Senior Communities; and the news coverage regarding a fatal fall at Muncie’s Bethel Pointe Healthcare Facility all discussed in our post entitled, “Nursing Home Injury Claims for Victims in Indiana and Illinois.”
The fact that we have so many nursing home facilities in our community requires us to maintain an even greater vigilance in protecting residents from serious or fatal falls. Any fall for a nursing home resident can be life-altering, even deadly.
Sadly, residents may fall victim to abuse or neglect in a nursing home and suffer a fall that causes severe bodily injury. The duty to protect them from this kind of harm is defined in the state law of both Indiana and Illinois.
Falls in Nursing Home Facilities Are Different Than Typical “Slip and Fall” Accident Claims
After a nursing home resident has been injured in a fall, there will be standard operating procedures in place for the home’s staff and employees to follow in documenting the incident.
The corporate attitude of those profiting from the nursing home operations will be focused upon limiting their exposure and making sure they obey whatever directions they have been given by their insurance carrier.
Their attitude will be to minimize the incident, and if possible, treat the case as if it were a typical kind of “slip and fall” accident that anyone might suffer, say at a grocery store or hotel bathroom.
However, these falls are not considered in the same way as the typical fall at the local supermarket. Nursing home falls must be viewed through the particular kind of legal duty of care placed upon these businesses as caretakers and health care providers for older adults who face challenges that include weakened bones (osteoporosis, etc.); loss of hearing or sight; problems with balance or gait; etc.
Some nursing home residents are at risk of deadly fall when they are doing basic daily tasks like getting out of bed, going to the bathroom, or getting dressed.
Accordingly, nursing home facilities are held to a legal responsibility to keep their residents safe from harm. There are issues to be addressed here that are specific to this relationship which makes it a different kind of legal claim than one asserted by a store customer against a grocery chain. See, Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect in Illinois and Indiana: Finding Justice.
Did Abuse or Neglect by the Nursing Home Cause the Fall?
When someone is a victim of a nursing home fall, the issues focus not upon the cause of the incident like a fall in a grocery aisle. In the latter, investigation delves into things like debris on the floor, whether it was freshly waxed, and how often the store employees maintain and monitor the aisles.
When someone suffers a fall in a nursing home, exploration goes into how the nursing home failed to keep them safe. Nursing home owners, management, and staff are well aware that falls are a tremendous danger to residents.
So how did the fall happen when resident falls are a recognized safety concern in a care facility?
Claims Against the Nursing Home for the Fatal Fall
Grieving family members may be faced with the duty of seeking justice for their loved one, who died as the result of a nursing home fall. They need to know that the nursing home industry, and its insurance carriers, are sophisticated and prepared in the defense of these incidents and all too ready to deny or deflect accountability for what has happened.
These cases need to be zealously investigated, asking for things like the nursing home’s Minimum Data Set Reports, which must be filed periodically with the federal government detailing things like falls by residents at the facility. MDS Public Reports are legally mandatory as long as the facility is receiving benefits from Medicare or Medicaid.
The emotional aftermath of a deadly fall to a beloved family member must be met with compassionate understanding as well as vigorous advocacy in the fight to right the wrong of a fall caused by the abuse or neglect of a care facility that breached their duty of care.
Nursing home fatal fall accidents are some of the most infuriating and horrific kinds of tragedy that form the basis of personal injury and wrongful death claims. Nursing home abuse and neglect must be considered as part of this week’s fall prevention awareness campaign. Let’s be careful out there!
