Nursing Home Injuries What are My Rights?

Nursing Home Injuries – Preventable and Unavoidable

Nursing home injuries can be divided into two distinct categories:

• Preventable Nursing Home Injuries
• Unavoidable Nursing Home Injuries

Most nursing homes are well run and staffed and are very conscientious.  However, in handling many nursing home cases over the years, we have learned that some nursing homes are not adequately staffed or are otherwise deficient in the care they provide.

Preventable Nursing Home Injuries – The most common nursing home injuries are caused by unnecessary falls and preventable bed sores.

People in nursing homes are generally elderly and compromised in terms of their ability to stand and walk.  Nursing homes are required to evaluate patients upon admission in terms of their “fall risk.”  If the patient is determined to be prone to falls, there are steps that a nursing home can take. These fall evaluations must be done frequently as patients usually deteriorate over time and the fall risk evaluations usually change over time.   These measures are effective in preventing injuries from falls.

These include but are not limited to:

• Lowering the patient’s bed
• Putting fall mats on the floor of the patient’s room
• Putting an alarm in their bed so when they get up the staff is alerted
• Frequent assisted toileting, and similar measures.

The second type of generally preventable common injury is bed sores.  While the name bed sore does not sound like a serious injury, some bed sores are very severe.

• Bed sores (also called “pressure ulcers”) are staged by numbers.
• The numbers are 1 through 4.  Number 1 is least severe, Number 4 is very severe.
• Bed sores that are truly horrible are rated as “unstageable.”  These are characterized by an open hole in the skin which is open down to the bone or body organ.

To prevent bed sores, patients confined to bed must be turned every two hours, day or night.  In addition, depending on the patient, other techniques can be used such as installing a pressure relieving mattress.  These techniques prevent bed sores from forming.

Common Complications That Can Develop

The failure to implement proper fall prevention techniques can lead to patient falls.  Frequently, because they are elderly, the patient will break their hip.  Broken hips often result in the patient dying in a short period of time.

With regard to the failure to regularly turn or properly treat bedridden patients, bed sores can arise within a few days and grow in size and severity.  Once a bed sore occurs, it is very hard to cure.  These often lead to infection and death.

Your Rights If You Or A Loved One Is The Victim Of Nursing Home Misconduct

With the guidance of a knowledgeable attorney, cases can be filed arising from improper conduct resulting in falls and bed sores.

Our office has successfully handled a substantial number of these cases and we have the knowledge and experience to resolve them successfully.

——————————————–

The Kronberg Law Firm offers you expertise, experience and personal attention by the principals of the law firm in every case.
Call or text us at (973) 204-6573 for a free initial consultation if you or a loved one has suffered injury due to nursing home neglect.