Brain injuries from nursing home falls are a serious health problem. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reports that half of nursing home residents fall at least once each year.
About 10% of these falls result in serious injury, including brain injuries. Greenville nursing home abuse lawyer Bobby Jones Law explains brain injuries from nursing home falls and what you need to know.
Brain Injuries from Nursing Home Falls
Brain injuries from nursing home falls often result in serious injury and death. When a fall occurs because of negligence, and a brain injury results, a victim may qualify to receive financial compensation. Call Bobby Jones Law at (864) 432-1514 to discuss your case and begin a claim.
Potential Outcomes of a Fall and Head Injury
When a person in a nursing home falls and a head injury occurs, it can take many forms. The person may suffer:
Concussion
A concussion occurs when force to the brain disrupts normal brain functioning. Concussions can impact thinking, coordination, mood, emotions, and speech.
Subdural hematoma
Subdural hematoma is a brain bleed. Symptoms may include headache, nausea, balance and coordination problems, sensory difficulties, confusion and numbness. It can be fatal.
Skull fracture
The skull is a bone that holds and protects the brain. Like other bones, when it is struck with force, it cannot withstand, it can break and fracture.
Open wound
A fall may result in a contusion to the head that creates an open wound.
A victim may suffer multiple complications following a fall. Brain injuries from a nursing home fall may cause disability or death.
Causes of Brain Injuries in Nursing Homes
Some ways that brain injuries may occur in a nursing home include:
- Falls from slippery floors and spills on the floor
- Inadequate hand railings and mobility supports
- Falling objects
- Physical activities and exercise
- Jostling and residents bumping into each other
- Assisting a resident to stand, sit, or move
- Assault and battery
- Inadequate risk assessment and precautions
- Unsafe flooring, floors in poor repair
- Electrical shock resulting in a fall
A brain injury can occur suddenly. It can happen whether or not the resident was at an elevated risk for suffering a fall and whether or not they had mobility impairment.
Legal Rights for Elderly Brain Injury Victims
An elderly person who suffers a brain injury from a nursing home fall may be the victim of negligence. People who live in residential care facilities have the right to expect reasonable care and caution to be taken for their safety. Facility operators must take reasonable steps to protect the safety of residents. That means identifying and mitigating risks that may be specific to the age or medical conditions of residents.
You may think that a nursing home fall is just an accident. However, it may be traced to negligence. For example, if a handrail is broken in a hallway, and it is allowed to exist in that condition for several weeks, the nursing home may have been negligent in failing to fix it. A home may have been negligent in placing tables in the dining room too close together, where residents must jostle past each other to move around the room. These are examples of negligence that may give a victim the right to compensation.
Legal Representation for Brain Injury from a Nursing Home Fall
A person suffering a brain injury from a nursing home fall may have legal representation.
Compensation may cover medical bills to treat the injury, nursing and personal care, medical devices, and physical therapy. It can also provide compensation for pain, suffering, and emotional anguish.
What you should do
If you suspect a brain injury from a nursing home fall, seek medical attention right away.
Preserve evidence, including taking photos of where the fall occurred, if possible. Contact a lawyer as soon as possible.
Talk to a Nursing Home Injury Lawyer for Free
If you or a loved one has sustained a brain injury from a fall in a nursing home, we invite you to talk to a lawyer. Contact Bobby Jones Law for a free consultation.
We are happy to discuss your situation and answer your questions. See what you may receive in compensation and start your case today. Contact us now.
