An investigation by the Illinois Department of Public Health revealed that the Columbia Rehab and Nursing Center in Columbia, Illinois was guilty of nursing home neglect when they repeatedly failed to notify authorities after a resident suffered a nursing home fall.
The nursing home fall resulted in a fractured femur. The result is predictable and preventable: a night of pain and discomfort for a nursing home resident that never should have happened.
According to the report, the accident initially went completely unreported. It took place during the evening when the resident was being put to bed, but wasn’t reported until after the shift change. A new certified nurses aide (CNA) found the resident in pain, and reported to the evening nurse. The resident reported that she had fallen when being put to bed. A bruise was found on her leg.
The CNAs in charge of putting her to bed denied that a fall took place. They say the resident merely lost her balance and was “OK” after the fall. The evening nurse passed on the report, but took no further action.
The Columbia Rehab and Nursing Center overnight nurse received the report at 11:00 PM, but did not observe the resident until 4:00 AM. She was still in pain. At this time the resident reported again that she fell and hit her head. The overnight nurse waited another two hours before calling the woman’s attending physician. At this point, the Columbia Rehab resident had been suffering with a fractured leg for 11 hours with no pain medication whatsoever.
Of course, the physician ordered X-rays that confirmed the injured leg, a procedure that should have taken place half a day earlier. During that time, the resident endured hours of completely unnecessary pain and suffering. No fewer than three different individuals had the opportunity to contact the appropriate medical responders, and all failed to live up to their duties to prevent nursing home neglect.
As a nursing home fall lawyer, I know that falls happen very frequently. Often, there’s an attempt to cover up the fall. At my law offices we have experience investigating and litigating nursing home fall lawsuits.
If you have a loved one in an Illinois nursing home who has been injured in a nursing home fall, and you feel that the fall was the result of nursing home neglect, contact our Chicago nursing home lawyers for a free and confidential evaluation of your case.
Other blog posts om nursing home falls:
Fall and brain bleed at Alpine Fireside in Rockford
Unsupervised resident fractures hip at Meadowbrook Manor
Failure to follow care plan results in additional falls at Manor Court