Most people assume hospitals are safe. The place you go to heal is not usually a place people frequently associate with sustaining injuries. You might be surprised to learn an estimated 700,000 to one million falls occur in hospitals each year. Research cited by the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality suggests about a third of hospital falls are preventable with various training improvements and safety measures.
Falls in nursing home, assisted living or hospital settings are a serious problem. One recent study found that 63 percent of patients who fell suffered some degree of injury. Just under half of those injured – 46 percent – suffer only minor injuries, but four percent of people injured in these falls suffered severe injuries or death.
Based on those statistics, there could be up to 630,000 patients being injured in falls each year, and about 25,600 hospital patients dying or being severely injured by their falls. Up to 8,500 of those serious fall injuries should be preventable.
There are also monetary consequences for people who fall in hospitals. On average people who fall in hospitals end up paying $13,316 more than inpatients who don’t fall. They also end up staying in the hospital for an additional six to eight days on average.
Why Are Falls Getting Worse?
There are many factors that could be contributing to increasing rates of falls in hospitals and residential care facilities:
- Patients are staying in hospitals longer.
- People are living longer, which means the average age of residents in assisted living and nursing facilities is rising. Older people tend to be more frail and more likely to fall.
- Hospital crowding can result in nurses having less time to dedicate to each patient. The current nursing shortage is also contributing to the reduced attention patients receive. There’s a strong correlation between falls and a lack of supervision. Patients with balance or mobility issues frequently fall when trying to get to the bathroom on their own. Less time per patient means a higher likelihood patients try to get up and go somewhere, like the bathroom, on their own.
- Some medications and treatments affect balance and mobility. Medications that unbalance patients may have been more frequently prescribed in recent years.
Some factors that increase fall risk cited in the International Journal of Health Policy and Management study include:
- Longer average hospitals stays
- Visual impairment
- Ailments or medications affecting balance
- Manual transfer failures
- Urinary incontinence causing patients to rush to the bathroom
A variety of medications and treatments have been linked to an increased likelihood for falls, including:
- ACE inhibitors
- Antihistamines
- Chemotherapy drugs
- Benzodiazepines
- Anti-diabetic medications
- Anticonvulsants
- Most sedatives
Strong Correlation Between Age and Fall Risk
One of the most striking factors in fall risk was age. Males over the age of 85 were four times more likely to fall than those between the ages of 65 and 74. Life expectancy has shot up significantly over the past several decades. A 2020 U.S. Census Bureau report estimates a six-year increase in life expectancy by 2060. As more Americans start living into their 80s, 90s and 100s, it’s likely fall rates will increase if safety measures and training remain static.
Hospitals and senior living communities can begin taking steps now to reduce the fall rate among patients and residents. In addition to improving training and installing better fall-prevention safety measures, hospitals can also implement better predictive strategies to identify patients with elevated fall risks.
If a patient is over a certain age, experiencing incontinence, visually impaired and on medications that increase fall risk, hospitals should be implementing additional safeguards to protect that patient.
The status quo is not enforced by government policy. In many cases these are private institutions that can make these changes if they find the motivation to do so. Unfortunately, the best motivating factor may be legal action.
Families who have experienced pain and personal tragedy due to a loved one’s fall in a hospital or senior living facility should seek compensation. If enough families hold hospitals and nursing homes accountable for falls, those institutions may recognize it’s in their financial best interest to implement better fall prevention strategies.
Have You or a Loved One Been Injured in a Fall at a Houston Hospital or Assisted Living Facility?
At the Weycer Law Firm, we take the safety and health of people in healthcare facilities seriously. When vulnerable individuals are neglected and subsequently injured by preventable falls, they and their families deserve compensation for increased medical costs and pain and suffering.
Call our personal injury lawyers at (713) 668-4545 to schedule your free, no-obligation case evaluation.
