Experienced Kansas City Elder Fall Attorney
Many adults aged 65 and older suffer bone fractures and other injuries due to falls each year. People discharged from the hospital with fall-related injuries are more likely to fall again within six months. These types of falls have become a significant issue for the elderly, as they frequently result in life-altering injuries and, in some cases, death.Â
Sadly, nursing homes are more prone to serious and fatal falls. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 1,800 nursing home residents die annually from fall-related injuries. If you have entrusted a medical professional, nursing home, or hospital with your loved one’s care, they are responsible for preventing this type of accident.Â
You may be entitled to compensation when a caretaker fails to uphold this responsibility. Call Ricket Law Firm today to start your road to justice with the help of our skilled Kansas City elder fall attorney.
Why Do I Need an Elder Fall Attorney in Missouri?
Our competent Kansas City elder fall attorney is an important resource for seniors who have suffered a fall due to age-related issues. Falls can be serious and cause significant physical, emotional, and financial abuse to a nursing home resident. We can help seniors navigate the legal process and recover damages related to the fall.Â
We can provide legal advice on filing a claim against parties who may be responsible for the fall, such as property owners, caregivers, or medical professionals. We can also help to ensure that all applicable laws are followed and that the senior’s rights are protected.Â
Additionally, our Kansas City elder falls attorney can guide you in selecting the appropriate type of damages, such as medical expenses, pain and suffering, or lost wages, and they can potentially negotiate a settlement on the senior’s behalf.Â
Seeking the counsel of our knowledgeable personal injury attorney is important to ensure that all legal remedies are pursued and that all possible damages are received.
Why Do Falls Occur More Frequently in Nursing Homes?
In general, elderly individuals enter nursing homes because they require a greater level of care than those who can live independently. Many nursing home residents have difficulty walking and require assistance to get around. They may also experience mental and physical health issues. All of these factors increase the likelihood of falling.
When this at-risk population is neglected due to insufficient staffing or inadequate training, falls are almost certain to occur. All nursing homes are required by the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 to maintain a specific staff-to-resident ratio, consider the risk factors of each patient, and develop a comprehensive care plan to prevent falls and other accidents.
If you or a loved one experienced a fall in a nursing home, the facility likely failed to meet its legal obligations and should be held liable.
What Are the Most Common Causes and Risk Factors of Falling in Nursing Homes?
Most people envision a nursing home as a safe and comfortable environment for the elderly to spend their final days. Sadly, many nursing home residents sustain injuries due to unsafe conditions, lack of supervision, absence of a protocol for fall prevention, or muscle weakness.
Each year, thousands of seniors are at risk of falling in these facilities, often with dire consequences. When entering a nursing home, many families are understandably concerned for the safety of their loved ones. Understanding the common causes of falls in nursing homes can help in their prevention. Possible risk factors contributing to the majority of serious injury falls include:
- Vision and Balance Changes With Age
- Medication That May Cause Vertigo or Drowsiness
- Environmental Hazards
- Inadequate Supervision
- Personnel Incompetence
- Vision Impairment and Inadequate Lighting
- Wet Floors and Disorganized Spaces
- Uneven Surfaces
- Physical Restraints
- Inadequately Fitting Footwear
Nursing Home Negligence
When malnourished, dehydrated, or oversedated, substandard care may increase the patient’s risk of falling and diminish their quality of life.
If you are aware of any of these risks in the nursing home where your loved one resides, you should keep a close eye on him or her to prevent a fall. Moreover, if you are aware that a loved one has fallen in a nursing home, contact our qualified Kansas City elder fall attorney immediately.
What Are the Different Types of Falls?
There are several types of falls that can occur in a nursing home, and almost all of them are considered to be the result of negligence. These fall types include:
Unattended Falls
When a caregiver is not available to assist a patient with standing and moving, this occurs.
Attended Falls
This occurs when staff members are present but are unable to prevent a fall. This could be due to hazards in the home, such as faulty equipment, wet floors, etc., improper bed transfers, inadequate staff training, unlocked wheelchair wheels, overmedication, and more.
Hoyer Lift Falls
A Hoyer lift is a patient lift that uses a sling to move people from one location to another. Due to inadequate training of the equipment, nursing home negligence involving Hoyer lifts is common.
Each type of fall is preventable if the nursing home staff provides the proper treatment and care. In the United States, nursing homes are required to assess the fall risk of every patient residing in their facility. However, these assessments are not always conducted correctly, which can have dangerous consequences in the event of a fall.
Are Nursing Homes Legally Responsible When Residents Fall?
In most instances, yes. Nursing homes are required by law to implement fall prevention care plans to prevent resident falls. Nursing home negligence occurs when a healthcare facility fails to implement appropriate fall interventions and a patient falls and sustains injuries.
If a loved one, such as your mother or father, resides in a nursing home and has recently fallen, the facility may have explained that falling is a natural consequence of aging. The state and federal regulations governing nursing homes state the opposite.Â
State and federal laws prevent patients from falling within healthcare facilities. Patient falls are unacceptable in any setting, including nursing homes and hospitals. If a resident is considered a “fall risk,” the facility must implement fall prevention strategies to prevent falls.Â
Hospitals and nursing homes are required by law to implement fall prevention measures. Failure to prevent falls is a form of patient neglect, with potentially devastating consequences. If your loved one’s fall resulted in a fracture, brain hemorrhage, wrongful death, or serious injury, have our qualified Kansas City elder falls attorney at Ricket Law Firm investigate immediately.
Why Should I Bring a Nursing Home Fall Lawsuit?
Falls are never pleasant, but for nursing home residents they can be especially dangerous. You rely on nursing homes to protect your loved ones from injuries such as broken bones, brain bleeds, and even untimely death. The facility may be guilty of patient neglect if they do not prevent your parent or loved one from falling and becoming injured or even dying.Â
You must work with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible after the incident to investigate. You can not only receive the compensation and justice you deserve, but you can also hold the facility accountable and safeguard the lives and well-being of other nursing home residents. Taking action against the facility could prevent future falls and save lives.Â
At Ricket Law Firm, we recognize that nursing homes do not always act ethically. Reach out and tell us what happened to your family member. Following a fall-related injury or death in a nursing home, our accomplished Kansas City elder fall attorney is available to help you understand your legal rights and options.
Can I File a Lawsuit Against a Nursing Home for a Fall-Related Death?
If you are the victim’s surviving next of kin, you may. While it is true that some falls are truly accidental — almost everyone trips over their own feet from time to time — falls involving elderly nursing home residents differ from those involving ordinary individuals.
While most slips and falls result from clumsiness, nursing home residents are known to be at risk for falling. They suffer from underlying health conditions and cognitive disorders. They cannot be accountable for their welfare. They are in a nursing home to ensure their safety.
The law, therefore, mandates nursing home intervention to prevent falls. Upon investigation, our Kansas City elder fall attorney discovers that many nursing home falls are preventable. This is a valid reason to file a nursing home fall lawsuit.
Is My Older Adult Loved One to Blame for Getting Up Without Assistance and Falling Into the Nursing Home?
No, they are not. It is typically impossible to teach an elderly nursing home resident to remain in bed due to dementia, disorientation, confusion, and medications. It is understood that humans will attempt to perform activities they deem essential (such as getting up to use the restroom).Â
A nursing home cannot assign blame for your elder loved one’s fall to reduce their liability. This is the equivalent of a daycare blaming a toddler for running into the street. The facility is ultimately responsible for supervising, assisting, and monitoring the patients they are paid to protect.
What Are the Available Compensations From Nursing Home Fall Accidents Lawsuit?
Falls in nursing homes can cause irreversible damage to residents’ health, well-being, and quality of life overall. Families place their faith in nursing homes to safeguard their loved ones. Bringing a lawsuit against a nursing home may be the only way to obtain justice when facilities fail to ensure resident safety.Â
A successful lawsuit can provide you with the funds necessary to help an older adult loved one recover. Compensation from lawsuits involving falls in nursing homes can help pay for:
- Funeral costs
- Domestic expenses (groceries, utilities)
- Lost income
- Medical fees
- Mortgages or rent
- Other expenses or bills
- Physical treatment
In addition, nursing home fall lawsuits ensure that facilities are compelled to implement changes to protect future residents. When considering filing a lawsuit against a nursing home, you must remember that not all attorneys are the same.Â
Finding a Kansas City elder law attorney with experience in cases similar to yours can help ensure the best possible outcome.
How to Prevent Falls in Nursing Homes?
The facilities must develop and implement a fall management program with prevention strategies due to the numerous risks associated with nursing home falls. The following are some simple measures nursing homes can take to prevent falls:
Assessing and Managing Potential Risks
Poor vision, medication side effects, ineffective medical treatment, poor balance, and limited mobility are examples of fall risk factors that nursing homes should routinely consider and identify. Once these contributing factors have been identified, the nursing home should devise a plan to address them, including specific medications and physical therapy.
Promotion of Safe Mobility
By providing exercise opportunities and the necessary assistive devices, such as walkers and canes, nursing homes should motivate all residents to be as mobile as possible.
Providing Sufficient Employee Supervision
It is the responsibility of nursing homes to ensure that there is always sufficient staff on duty to adequately monitor residents and provide assistance when necessary.
Enhancing Appropriate Care
It will ensure the safety of residents, including those with Alzheimer’s disease, who have twice the rate of accidental falls in nursing homes.
Employ Safety Equipment and Services
Preventing injuries related to nursing home falls by installing and maintaining bed or chair alarms and employing paid sitters for those at risk of falling so they can immediately alert the nursing home staff when assistance is required.
Providing a Secure Environment
Nursing homes should routinely inspect the premises for potential hazards, such as wet floors, loose rugs, and obstructions in the walkways, and implement corrective measures to prevent falls and subsequent injuries.
Developing a Falls Management Plan
Numerous nursing facilities have implemented fall prevention programs to reduce fall risks, such as educational workshops for staff and residents, hazard inspections, specific healthcare research, bed alarms, and targeted interventions for residents at high risk.
How Can Our Experienced Kansas City Elder Fall Attorney Help?
A Kansas City nursing home is liable if it fails to prevent resident falls. Personal injury and wrongful death claims hold nursing homes accountable, protect other residents from similar harm, and allow injured parties and their families to recover monetary damages.
Our talented Kansas City elder fall attorney has successfully held nursing homes accountable for allowing residents to sustain injuries from falls that were unnecessary. If a family member or loved one has been injured due to a fall in a nursing home, please contact the Ricket Law Firm to discuss your injuries and legal rights.
Take Action and Call Us Today
As Kansas City nursing home falls attorneys, we pursue justice with zeal and vigor. If you or a loved one experienced a fall in a nursing home or assisted living facility, our skilled Kansas City elder fall attorney will fight for your rights. If a loved one’s death was caused by a fall in an assisted living facility or nursing home, our compassionate Kansas City elder falls attorney will fight tirelessly in a wrongful death case.
Please contact us immediately if you suspect elder abuse in the form of failure to prevent a fall. The Ricket Law Firm will vigorously pursue justice for you and the maximum case value and compensation you are entitled to. Our law office represents clients across the state of Missouri, including Kansas City.
