If a resident in a nursing home or assisted living facility falls, it’s vital for staff to act swiftly in transporting the resident for emergency medical care or to provide the necessary care themselves. After care has been rendered, they should immediately notify the resident’s family. The same procedure should essentially be followed if a loved one falls in a hospital.
The first thing you should do after any injury, whether its your own injury or a loved one’s injury, is get it diagnosed and treated. Having your injuries accurately diagnosed is important for not only making a case but determining appropriate damages. Failing to seek medical treatment may also jeopardize your case’s chances, as it could raise doubts over the source of the injury or the severity of the injuries.
Once you’ve gotten your loved one treated, it might be in your best interest to speak with a personal injury lawyer with experience in hospital, assisted living and nursing home fall cases.
Are Nursing Home Fall and Medical Malpractice Cases the Same Thing?
Medical malpractice cases are frequently the result of a specific action or the failure to take the appropriate action in a vital moment. Nursing home negligence cases are more frequently about systemic lapses at an institution. A resident falling may be a symptom of issues with inattentive caregivers, inadequate staffing or an overall negligent approach to resident health.
Not every Houston personal injury law firm has experience analyzing a nursing home’s history to identify negligent patterns of behavior.
In some cases, a fall is a singular event, but that doesn’t mean a case shouldn’t be pursued. Falls in hospitals or nursing facilities can result in serious injuries that are expensive to treat. They may even result in permanent disabilities or death. It’s important for families to receive appropriate compensation to aid in recovery.
Steps for Collecting Evidence in a Nursing Home Fall Case
Not every hospital or nursing home fall is a result of negligence, but it’s often better to be safe than sorry when the health and safety of your loved one is in jeopardy. Some steps you can take to improve your case’s chance for success include:
- Documenting injuries, like taking pictures of bruising as soon as possible
- Take pictures or video with your phone of where the fall happened, including obstructions, flooring, faulty equipment or furniture that may have caused the fall
- Ask for resident records or medical charts that should note whether a patient or resident was a fall risk
- Ascertain what fall prevention protocols were and weren’t followed
- Ensure any necessary diagnostics are performed (X-rays, MRIs, etc.) and collect copies of results
- If your loved one was prescribed any medications that could increase or decrease fall risk, get records of administration schedules
- Gather contact information for the people in charge of your loved one’s care and safety as well as any witnesses who may have seen the fall occur
The more information you can get about the fall incident itself and the medical care your loved one was receiving, the easier it will be for your personal injury lawyer to build an effective case. Familiarizing yourself with the fall-prevention protocols of the nursing facility or hospital can also be helpful, especially when your loved one has conditions or is taking medications that increase the risk for falls.
Falls Are Common in Care and Home Settings
Older people have significantly increased fall risks, whether they’re in a nursing facility, the hospital or at home. Falls can happen in any environment, which is why you should familiarize yourself with the proper way to help a loved one up if you’re present when they do suffer a fall.
Hospitals and nursing homes are all too familiar with the dangers posed by falls and the increased likelihood for patient and resident falls. They have a responsibility to take steps to safeguard against falls in their facilities. A failure to mitigate fall risks could indicate larger issues at an institution or be an example of negligent care.
The Weycer Law Firm is dedicated to fighting for Houston families who are concerned about their loved one’s safety and wellbeing. Call us at (713) 668-4545 to request a free, no-obligation case evaluation.