Experienced New York Nursing Home Fall Injury Lawyer

Assessing the Risk of Falling

Every nursing facility in our country has a legal obligation to correctly and thoroughly assess the needs of each of their residents when admitted and then create an individualized care plan and follow it meticulously to protect the resident’s health and safety.

The resident’s care plan has to include a thorough evaluation of all the factors that may contribute to a fall. Full consideration of the person’s health issues should be taken into account, including:

• Impaired vision
• Mobility limitations
• Dementia
• General loss of balance and strength
• Medications that cause drowsiness, poor reaction time or dizziness

The care plan should further detail an inventory of the necessary assistive devices and equipment necessary to provide quality and adequate care to the person and keep them reasonably safe. This includes:

• Positioning of rails and grab bars
• Walkers and any other mobility aids
• Installation of cushioned surfaces
• Assessment of a safe height for toilets, chairs, and beds

What to Look Out For

Often, nursing home residents don’t report a fall, so it is important for relatives to lookout for any indications of injuries, such as abrasions and bruises. If you think a fall has occurred, ask to see the resident’s chart. Under federal law, the chart must be provided to anyone acting as a guardian and who has the legal right to inspect it.

Who’s Responsible for Nursing Home Falls?

While not every fall that occurs in a nursing home facility is preventable, if the facility or a member of its staff acts negligently, or fails to take reasonable action to prevent a fall, they can be held liable and you may be able to bring a personal injury lawsuit against them.

If any of the following examples happen in a facility setting and the resident is injured, there is a good case for liability:

• Failure to reassess and modify resident’s care plans
• Understaffing, which prevents the provision of adequate care
• Failure to develop a care plan based on a person’s health condition and unique needs when admitted
• Failure to use proper care techniques, such as when transferring a resident from bed to wheelchair
• Hiring staff who are not qualified or failing to provide adequate training
• Failure to remedy any environmental hazards in public areas or living units, including poor lighting, wet floors, and defective floors
• Failure to meticulously follow facility protocol for access to call buttons and care alarms

Do You Need to Speak to a New York City Lawyer?

Has your elderly relative suffered a preventable injury from a fall in a nursing facility? At Dansker & Aspromonte Associates LLP, we have years of experience representing individuals and families harmed by other people’s recklessness and negligence. Talk to use about seeking the deserved compensation. While we work tirelessly to settle cases without a trial and will be ready to take your case to court.

We work to get the answers we need and collect conclusive evidence about the fall injury. For instance:

• If you have learned of poorly explained and serious injuries that seem to be signs of physical abuse or a fall
• If your loved one had a physical or mental condition that necessitated vigilant supervision to prevent them wandering into unsafe situations and falling
• If you suspect the patient was dropped while being transferred in or out of bed or a chair

Contact Us for a Free Consultation

If the accident occurred in the New York City metro or surrounds, we will meet with you for a free consultation to advice on your potential case against your relative’s nursing home. With over 100 years of experience and a team of expert attorneys, we’re ready to help you.