Two residents at the Forest View Rehab and Nursing Center in Itasca, Illinois were injured after experiencing nursing home falls at the facility. Both residents had been designated “high risks” for nursing home falls. As such, extra interventions should have been in place to prevent injuries from nursing home falls from taking place.
The first resident fell after staff failed to ensure that the necessary safety features of his wheelchair, including a raised armrest and locked footrests, were in place. The resident fell out of the chair, splitting his lip on a garbage can nearby. The injury eventually required a trip to a local Itasca hospital for evaluation and treatment.
The second resident was more seriously injured. She was admitted to the facility after a serious fall that resulted in fractured ribs and a broken arm. In spite of this, there were no interventions made to address potential nursing home falls. A fall from her bed resulted in a severe cut to the back of her head that required five staples to close.
Nursing home falls are some of the most common injuries suffered at nursing home facilities, and they can be the most dangerous. Injuries caused by nursing home falls not only cost residents their mobility, they also make them much more likely to acquire infections, bed sores, and other dangerous conditions.
Unlike falls that occur outside of nursing homes, nursing home falls are generally easy to predict. Each resident is regularly evaluated for risk factors associated with falls, and specific interventions are supposed to be put in place if a risk is present.
If you have a loved who has been severely injured in a nursing home fall, contact the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle for a free and confidential evaluation of your case. At my law offices, our Chicago nursing home lawyers never charge a fee unless we make a recovery for you.
Other blog posts on nursing home falls:
Resident suffers broken hip in unsafe transfer at Pearl of Rolling Meadows
Misuse of Hoyer lift at Caseyville nursing home
Failure to revise care plan at Asta Care in Elgin
Fall and brain bleed at Alpine Fireside in Rockford