Falls in Kentucky Nursing Homes and Hospitals

Many hospital patients and nursing home residents are injured in falls. They may suffer hip fractures, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and other serious injuries. In many cases, these injuries could have been prevented if staff and management had provided appropriate care and supervision.

If you or a loved one was hurt in a nursing home or hospital fall, you may have the legal right to seek compensation from the person or company responsible. Contact a nursing home abuse lawyer in Kentucky. We represent injured patients and their families after slip-and-fall accidents in. We can provide an immediate consultation about your case.

Statistics on Nursing Facility and Hospital Incidents

Federal statistics show how common falls are in hospitals and nursing homes. For instance:

• The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) reports that between 700,000 and 1 million hospital patients fall each year. Between 30 and 51 percent of these patients suffer a “reportable,” or serious, injury.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 50 to 75 percent of the more than 1.5 million Americans ages 65 and older who live in nursing homes fall each year. About 1,800 older adults living in nursing homes die each year from fall-related injuries.

How Falls Happen

The CDC and the AHRQ both report that proven fall prevention techniques could reduce the number of falling accidents and injuries. However, as the AHRQ has found, “these practices are not used systematically.” Falls in hospitals and nursing homes frequently are caused by the failure to:

• Provide sturdy handrails in patient bathrooms, rooms and hallways
• Follow safe patient-handling practices such as when transferring patients from beds to wheelchairs
• Provide adequate lighting in rooms and hallways
• Clean up spills in areas where patients walk
• Administer medication properly, making patients more prone to falls
• Supervise patients and prevent them from wandering away from the facility.

Lack of adequate staffing or staff training is no excuse for allowing a patient to fall and be injured at a nursing home or hospital. When medical institutions fail to meet proper standards of care, they should be held responsible.

Getting Legal Help After a Fall in a Kentucky Hospital or Nursing Home

Pursuing legal action after you or a loved one has suffered a fall in a nursing home or hospital can result in compensation for your medical expenses and other losses. It can also force the hospital or nursing home to take steps to prevent additional accidents.

The attorneys at Becker Law Office are committed to helping people in receiving the nursing home and hospital care that the law requires and patients deserve.

If you or a family member has been injured in a fall while under the care of a hospital or nursing home, we want to help you. Please contact us to arrange for a free consultation about your case.

Sources / More Information:

• Falls in Nursing Homes, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention