Ohio Nursing Home Falls Lawyer

Eadie Law - Ohio Nursing Home Falls Lawyer

Eadie Law focuses on handling cases involving residents’ falls (broken bones/brain bleeds) in nursing homes.

Unfortunately, falls are common among older people, posing significant risks to their health and well-being. It’s important to recognize that many of these falls are preventable by implementing proper measures like sufficient funding for staffing.

By investing in well-trained and adequately staffed facilities, nursing homes can provide the necessary care and supervision to ensure the safety and well-being of their residents, ultimately preventing unnecessary falls and the potential consequences they entail.

1,000+

Consultations For Nursing Home Issues

44+

Years of
Experience

$65M+

Recovered
For Clients

11+

Years of Recognition on Super Lawyers

10/10

Superb Rating
on Avvo

What Our Clients Say

We Are Award-Winning Lawyers

Our fulfillment as attorneys comes from the successful outcomes we secure for our clients and from knowing that we are part of a larger movement toward accountability and improved care in nursing homes.

MDAF-Logo-PMS-3-color-EPS-awards-eadie-law-ohio-nursing-home-injury-lawyers-e1709663446836
MMDAF-Logo-PMS-3-color-EPS_trans-awards-eadie-law-ohio-nursing-home-injury-lawyers-e1709663535919
NTL-top-40-40-member-400-awards-eadie-law-ohio-nursing-home-injury-lawyers-e1709663805549
lead-counsel-rated-blue
NTL-top-100-member-badge
Top Attorney Medical Malpractice
Top Attorney Nursing Home Abuse

Resident Falls Frequency and Common Causes in Nursing Homes

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1,800 seniors living in nursing homes die each year from fall-related injuries.

Those who survive falls often sustain broken hips or injuries that cause permanent disability.

Twenty percent of fall-related deaths in the 65+ older age group occur in nursing homes.

Resident Falls Frequency and Common Causes in Nursing Homes

On the left is a nurse pushing a nursing home resident in a wheelchair, and on the right is an elderly man on the floor after falling down

The most common causes of falls in nursing homes as per the CDC are:

Prevention of Resident Falls in Nursing Homes

On the left is a nursing home resident's hands on a cane, and on the right is a nurse consoling an elderly man

Preventing nursing home falls involves organizational, staff, and patient interventions.

First, families often focus solely on the patient level. The nursing home should provide appropriate care to its residents to prevent falls.

If caregivers for your parent or parents lack the knowledge, skills, or time to implement appropriate interventions, the effectiveness of well-intentioned interventions is compromised.

How To Prevent Nursing Home Falls

Educating and training nursing home staff to understand fall risk factors and prevention strategies to protect all their residents better.

Enhancing the nursing home environment with safety aids like grab bars, raised toilet seats, lower-height beds, and hallway handrails.

Assessing prescription medications for the potential risks of falling, and ensuring minimal use to accomplish the medical goals.

Assessing resident fall risk thoroughly at admission and on an ongoing basis to ensure optimal safety for new and existing residents.

Tools like bed and wheelchair alarms, floor mats, two-person assistance with transfers and bed mobility, and non-slip footwear are essential for safety.

Implement nursing home resident exercise programs to improve balance, strength, walking ability, and physical functioning.

What Makes a Nursing Home Liability for Falls?

If a resident sustains serious injuries from a fall in a nursing home, the facility may be accountable for:

On the left is a woman holding her hand to her face while looking sad, and on the right are lawyers at work with a scale on their desk

Guidance Every Step of the Way

With a personalized approach to each case, our team offers guidance and support beyond legal advice.

Investigation

Analysis to understand the extent and cause of injuries

Honesty

Open dialogue to address your fears and concerns

Advocacy

Improving safety standards across all of Ohio

Frequently Asked Questions

When a nursing home resident falls, the result can include traumatic injuries, disability, functional decline, and reduced quality of life.  What’s worse, the resident may now have a much more severe fear of falling that can cause depression, additional functional decline, a sense of helplessness, or isolation.

Nursing home falls are common and can lead to traumatic injuries, disability, functional decline, and reduced quality of life. Even worse, the resident may now have a much more severe fear of falling that can cause depression, additional functional decline, a sense of helplessness, or isolation. In irreversible cases, falls can result in a resident’s death.

Unfortunately, falls among the elderly are common. As per the report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1,800 older adults living in nursing homes die each year from injuries related to falls, such as broken bones and head trauma.

This is not limited to nursing homes, either. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, between 700,000 and 1 million hospital patients fall annually. Between 30% and 51% of those patients suffer a serious, “reportable” injury.

The whole process may take anywhere from 6 months to a couple years or–in rare cases–longer.  Most of that time, you won’t have to be doing anything.  Your lawyers should be, though!

A nursing home fall lawsuit often involves the following  steps:

  • Investigating the fall: gathering records, witness statements, video footage, and other information in order to look into the fall and see if any negligence occurred.
  • Investigating the nursing home and parent company: gathering information about this facility and, if appropriate, the parent company, in order to verify the reason(s) for the fall, which is typically understaffing.
  • Preparing and filing a nursing home fall lawsuit.
  • Prosecuting the claim in court by making nursing home and parent company answer written questions (“discovery requests”), having witnesses testify under oath (“deposition”), and trial.

When nursing homes fail to comply with federal nursing home regulations, as well as their Ohio counterparts, or any other applicable regulations, and a resident sustains an injury, the nursing home is responsible for the harm that results.

For nursing home fall cases, you don’t want just any personal injury lawyer; you need experts well-versed in nursing home injury federal law and regulations. At Eadie Law: Nursing Home Injury Lawyers, we specialize in handling serious nursing home injuries. As the only law firm in Ohio dedicated solely to nursing home injury cases, you can trust us with your concerns.

The majority of falls in nursing homes tend to occur within the resident’s room, particularly during the evening hours, according to a retrospective chart review conducted in a skilled nursing facility in New York.

As per the study, 66% of falls occurred in the resident’s room. Falls during the evening (between 4 pm and 8 pm) were more likely to result in serious injuries compared to daytime falls. There is a lower percentage of falls during the night shift (11 pm to 7 am).

Nursing homes have the responsibility to report resident falls.

The first step in a nursing home’s fall procedures is completing a comprehensive assessment of the patient and a detailed report of their fall.

If you believe that a loved one’s fall was not reported or documented, it is important that you discuss this with the proper healthcare provider. Failure to report an incident, like a fall, may cause major injuries that may be fatal, as well as long-term problems.

Free Nursing Home Safety Tips Emails

Get exclusive elder care and safety tips I only share with email subscribers.
Subscribe to Our E-Newsletter

Emails sent include valuable elder care insights – not useless content disguised as a pitch.

Media Inquiry

Start Media Inquiry form

Fill in the form for your free e-copy of the
Nursing Home Family Safety Guide
book

Free E-copy of Nursing Home Family Safety Guide book
I am
I'd like to join the Eadie Law email newsletter with information on staying safe and healthy in a nursing home!
Save Draft

Fill in the form for your free
Nursing Home Family Safety Guide
book

Free Nursing Home Family Safety Guide book
I am
I want
Address
Address
City
State/Province
Zip/Postal
Were you referred by an Estate Planning Attorney?
I'd like to join the Eadie Law email newsletter with information on staying safe and healthy in a nursing home!
Save Draft

Submit an Inquiry and Claim Your No-Cost Consultation Call Now

No-Cost Consultation
What is the best phone number to reach you?
We will keep this confidential, and send you important information.