One of the most common forms of injury for a senior citizen is a nursing home slip fall or drop. The proper treatment of our loved ones that reside in Anaheim and Orange County nursing homes can be a very sensitive topic to discuss. Although the vast majority of nursing homes do a great job in caring for and providing support for elders, unfortunately, there are still many which fail to properly protect their patients and uphold California’s patient care laws. A nursing home slip fall or drop should always be evaluated by one of our experienced personal injury attorneys.
When every resident is admitted to a nursing home, they should be assessed for their level of fall risk. Their fall risk is based on a variety of factors which may include:
- if they have had any prior falls
- if they are on any medications that may affect their balance
- if they are independently able to ambulate
Based on this assessment, the nursing home will implement different precautions in order to properly protect the resident from slips, falls, and drops. For instance, if an elder is assessed as a high fall risk, it would likely be irresponsible and possibly even negligent elder abuse if they were to leave an elder in a high level bed without guard rails. Doing so would expose the elder to possibly fall out of bed with injury.
Elders that are assessed as high fall risks typically have many precautions implemented such as:
- low level beds
- guard rails on beds
- assistance with walking
- straps and safety restrains for wheelchairs
Additionally, for totally immobile residents, assistance may be required for all transfers to bed and/or wheelchair.
If you or a loved one you know in a nursing home, has been injured in a suspicious nursing home slip fall or drop, there is the possibility that neglect has taken place. For a free consultation to discuss if you have a possible claim, please contact the Law Firm of Rivers J. Morrell today for a free consultation at (949)305-1400.
