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Oregon Falls and Fractures in Nursing Homes Lawyers - Bend/Portland, OR

falls and fractures in nursing homes, Fall At a Nursing Home

Oregon Falls and Fractures in Nursing Homes Lawyers Explain Commons Causes and Types of Fractures

Falls are a common cause of personal injuries, often leading to serious injuries such as fractures, traumatic brain injuries, or even wrongful death. Although a fall in a nursing home, long-term care facility, hospital, or another type of healthcare facility may appear to be due to the sole fault of the victim, our experienced nursing home abuse lawyers in Bend and Portland, Oregon know that is not always the case. Indeed, the purveyors of these facilities may be a substantial factor, sometimes even a sole factor, in causing falls and fractures to victims. According to government statistics, the annual rate of falls in nursing home facilities in the United States is approximately 11% for noninjury falls, and 5.3% for injury-causing falls. Statistics from Oregon are comparable to the natural average, at 10.5% for noninjury falls and 5% for injury falls.

However, other government research indicates that fall data is not always accurately reported – or reported at all – and, of the roughly 1.3 million residents in nursing facilities in the United States, roughly half of them will fall every year. The same statistics indicate that, of those that fell once, roughly 33% of them will fall at least one more time – some many more times. As a result of these falls and recurring falls, many nursing home defendants and their defense lawyers or insurance adjusters will take a “no pay” position and refuse to compensation victims.

Here at Kuhlman Law, we will fight to protect the rights of victims and families who have been injured in Oregon falls and fractures in nursing homes. Our personal injury lawyer handles nursing home abuse, neglect, malpractice, and negligence cases throughout Oregon and Minnesota, including right here in Bend, Portland, or Minneapolis. If a loved one has fallen at a nursing home, our compassionate and dedicated staff will not let defense lawyers and insurance adjusters protect dangerous facilities at your loved one’s expense. To learn more about your rights under the law, continue reading or schedule a free appointment today.

Were You or a Loved One a Fall Risk and Then Fell at a Nursing Home or Hospital? You May Be Entitled to Compensation

Defendants love to blame victims for their personal injuries after a fall. This includes in Oregon falls and fractures in nursing homes, where defendants can particularly blame victims who may be frail, ill, or struggling to walk already. These residents are often called “fall risks” and many defendants and insurance adjusters will try to write them off to a jury as a “no-cause” or “no pay” type of case.

However, anyone who is deemed a “fall risk” and then falls in a nursing home or hospital in Oregon or Minnesota, may be entitled to compensation under the law. Indeed, the law requires facilities such as these types of defendants to provide reasonable protections to victims and their families. If a resident of any healthcare facility who is deemed a fall risk later falls, there could be a significant case against a defendant. This is true even if the victim has fallen before or had some but not all of the protections.

The fact that a resident has fallen before and continues to fall, or was placed into a facility because he or she kept falling at home (in the community), are all poor arguments. Indeed, if a defendant is accepting your money for you or your loved one who they already know is a fall risk, they have to follow the law to guard against falls or decline your application. Said differently, facilities that take you money to help you for the reason you are being put in a nursing home (falls at home), cannot then say they are not liable or even responsible for not trying to take care of your health or safety as a fall risk.

The Truth About Falls and Fractures in Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care Facilities, Hospitals, and at Other Healthcare Providers

Falls are a type of personal injury case that is based on the common law (or judge-made law) of torts (a civil wrong, as opposed to a criminal offense). Although some falls can involve the comparative fault of a victim, other falls can be the complete and total fault of a defendant. This applies to falls outside on snow and ice, in a spill at a grocery store, or a leaky roof in any business, just as much as it applies to a nursing home resident falling at a facility.

The difference that many defendants will try to make in a nursing home case is that, oftentimes, there was no defect on the floor such as snow, ice, water, a spill, or another hazard. Rather, they will argue that a resident fell over nothing at all but his or her own feet. Although this argument sounds plausible, and some people may believe it to be even a good area, that is not how the law operates.

Indeed, the law places certain standards on nursing homes, long-term care facilities, hospitals, hospice, and other healthcare providers in Oregon and Minnesota. This includes assessing victims who may be a “fall risk” and ensuring that they are protected from falls through reasonable means. This ranges from everything such as ensuring that a victim has their bed lowered, to special socks with better grips for traction, bed alarms, more frequently bed checks, one-on-one, bedrails, and other measures to protect a resident from a fall. Facilities must also routinely check and re-assess residents who may be a fall risk.

Duties of Nursing Homes, Hospitals, and Other Types of Long-term Care Facilities to Residents Who May be a Fall Risk

A defendant may be liable for a resident’s falls and fractures in a nursing home if they fail to take certain steps at guarding a resident. Even if a resident continues to fall at home as a fall risk and is dangerous at home, that does not mean that they are not going to get appropriate care and treatment at a facility that takes their money anyway.

Minnesota and Oregon nursing home fall lawyers can help victims and their families hold defendants liable for their injuries. This includes proving that facilities were negligent by breaching their duty of care, such breach caused the victim’s injuries, and that the breach resulted in damages. Therefore, some of the steps that facilities must take to prevent Oregon falls and fractures in nursing homes include the following:

Admissions: Assess Patients for Fall Risk 

When a patient is being admitted to a facility, they need to perform a fall risk assessment. This includes several steps, including checking on the patient’s history of falls. It also includes checking why a patient is being placed into a nursing home or long-term care facility, such as due to a lower back or lower leg surgery which automatically results in a fall risk. Other behaviors are also known to result in fall risks, such as elopement, wandering, dementia, Alzheimer’s, eye conditions, balance conditions (including ear disorders), and other conditions that affect a patient’s ability to perceive and understand where they are and what they are doing.

During admissions, patients should also be assessed by physical therapy or occupational therapy relating to their strength, balance, and ability. That’s because a facility also needs to know what a victim is physically capable of doing and whether he or she is steady on their feet.

Medication Checks for Fall Risk Residents

Once a resident is to be admitted, facilities also need to check their medications. If a resident is a fall risk and continues to fall, it is contraindicated for a resident to be on blood thinners. That is because a resident who can fall and get hurt but is on blood thinners meaning that they will not clot normally, could suffer significant and dangerous brain bleeds in a fall. Other medications also need to be assessed too, including those that could cause dizziness, blurred vision, or other contribute to falls.

Following Any Fall, Reassess a Resident

Whenever a resident falls, whether or not a resident suffers an injury, a facility must engage in a reassessment for that resident’s fall risk. Indeed, a resident may not be a fall risk initially, but as he or she continues to live at a facility, they may become a fall risk or develop other conditions that result in an increased risk to fall.

Therefore, facilities must continue to assess residents that could be a fall risk or could develop into a fall risk. Anytime there is a fall or a procedure done where a resident could become a fall risk, it must be rechecked. Anytime a resident starts a medication that could result in a decrease or lack of balance, that must be rechecked to avoid the risk of Oregon falls and fractures in nursing homes.

Protections Must be Used and Assessed, and Increased if Not Sufficient

Nursing homes and long-term facilities must continue to assess residents for fall risk status and engage in certain protections that are sufficient to protect them. These protections must be commensurate with the fall risk, meaning that the least restriction means of protecting a resident must be used. For example, a patient who is a minor fall risk cannot immediately be restrained to a bed all day (highest level of restriction which could constitute false imprisonment or detention).

Therefore, in general ascending order, the falling protections that a facility should consider and use for a patient who is a fall risk include the following:

  • Use of bright wrist bands so all staff can clearly see and observe that a resident is a fall risk, and pay special attention to them in common areas
  • Enhanced grip socks or shoes
  • Lowering beds
  • Moving furniture away from beds or chairs to avoid a resident falling and hitting his or her head on hard furniture
  • Increasing lighting at night or in low light conditions
  • Using mats or soft floors near beds
  • Staff assistance for getting in and out of bed, chairs, wheelchairs, and bathroom use
  • Using hanging hand-grip systems, bars, or other assistance devices to help residents get up and down
  • Use of mobility assistance devices to help residents get around the facility
  • Bed alarms
  • Using hoists to help residents get out of bed or wheelchairs
  • Staff assistance when just walking around the facility
  • Two staff assistance for getting out in and out of bed, chairs, wheelchairs, and bathroom use
  • More frequent room checks
  • Bed rails, where safe and reasonable to use
  • One-on-one monitoring during certain times of the day (usually at night)
  • Physical restraints when necessary to avoid serious and foreseeable injury, and
  • Other protections and precautions as indicated by a healthcare provider or the law, including combinations of the above.

Common Causes of Oregon Falls and Fractures in Nursing Homes 

Falls and fractures in nursing homes represent a serious health crisis that affects thousands of elderly residents each year, especially right here in Bend, Oregon and Portland, Oregon. These incidents not only cause immediate physical trauma but can also lead to long-term health complications and, in severe cases, premature or unexplained death. Understanding the root causes and consequences of these incidents is crucial for prevention and accountability.

The four most common causes of falls and fractures in nursing homes include the following:

  • Failing to identify, protect, or mitigate the dangers to “fall risk” patients and residents
  • Reckless, careless, or outright inadequate facility design, maintenance, upkeep, or repairs that result in tripping hazards or slip and fall hazards
  • Understaffing that results in inadequate supervision or assistance, and
  • Malpractice, including due to abuse, neglect, negligence, or other conduct below the acceptable standard of care.

There may be other larger issues, but these are the main issues that largely contribute to Minnesota and Oregon falls and fractures in nursing homes, hospitals, and other types of long-term care facilities.

Understanding the Four Large Causes of Falls and Fractures in Nursing Homes

To better protect against falls, here are the common four categories and an explanation of how they can contribute to falls and fractures in nursing homes. Our nursing home abuse lawyer in Bend and Portland, OR, also explains common issues with liability too in seeking compensation.

Failing to Identify Fall Risk Patients and Facility

As extensively already discussed above, the critical role of nursing homes and hospitals is to immediately identify fall risk patients and to being to create a plan to protect them from harm. That should be the paramount concern, especially if that is the impetus for why a patient was placed into a facility in the first place. A defendant cannot use the fact that a patient is a fall risk to skirt their legal obligations, including the basic precept that they must evaluate admissions for a fall risk.

Poorly Maintained Facilities Due to Careless Design and Upkeep

Nursing home negligence can result in from more than just how a facility is run, but also how it is constructed and maintained. Specifically, nursing homes often face significant operational challenges that directly impact resident safety but fail to account for them in a manner that comports with the law. That includes building facilities that have a lot of stairs and changes in flooring elevation, tight corridors or bathrooms, and other bad design choices. In addition to that, facilities that poorly clean and repair flooring, carpeting, and other walking surfaces or areas can also be negligent.

Specifically, this includes other defective, dangerous, and potentially hazardous conditions such in the physical environment at a facility. That can present numerous dangers to residents, especially fall risk residents or those who may not see the dangerous. Poorly maintained facilities often feature hazardous conditions such as the following:

  • Improperly maintained flooring surfaces that have become slippery or uneven
  • Deteriorating infrastructure, including loose handrails and unstable stairs
  • Outdated or damaged carpeting that creates tripping hazards
  • Insufficient lighting in corridors and common areas
  • Improperly positioned furniture that obstructs safe passage
  • Vacuuming cords or wires in areas that can cause trips and falls
  • Wet floor or leaky roofs
  • Not cleaning up spills fast enough, and
  • Other regular trip and fall or slip and fall hazards that are significant most likely to cause serious injuries in a nursing home facility.

Understaffing Dangers

The largest of these issues for facilities are also inadequate staffing levels, which represents one of the most critical problems, as facilities frequently operate with fewer healthcare providers than necessary to ensure proper resident supervision and care. This understaffing is often compounded by insufficient training programs and the hiring of inexperienced personnel who might not recognize warning signs of fall risks or understand proper prevention protocols.

Negligent Care Practices

Healthcare provider negligence manifests in various ways that increase fall risks. Many of these common ways can result in avoidable falls and, therefore, could prevent Oregon falls and fractures in nursing homes. However, they are not always properly done and therefore result in significant injuries to residents.

Some of the most common and negligence causes of nursing home falls in Oregon include the following:

  • Failure to conduct thorough fall risk assessments for new residents
  • Inadequate implementation of fall prevention measures for high-risk individuals
  • Insufficient monitoring of residents, particularly during high-risk activities
  • Improper assistance during transfers and mobility activities
  • Neglect of residents that forces them to attempt independent movement without necessary support
  • Premises liability factors, such as failing to inspect the premises for dangerous conditions, repair them in a reasonable time, and ensure residents are safe, and
  • Other negligence causes that could result in falls and fractures in nursing homes or hospitals in Oregon or Portland.

Common Personal Injuries of Falls and Fractures in Nursing Homes in Oregon and Minnesota 

When a resident at a nursing home falls, there is a high probability there may be permanent and serious personal injuries. This is because nursing home residents are already weaker and more vulnerable to any type of injury. Falls can be particularly devastating, especially if they occur on or near stairs, outside where no one can find the downed resident, or in areas with furniture or other objects that could cause secondary injuries on the way down.

Falls simply pose grave dangers to residents and injuries after a fall may become a downward spiral for a resident’s overall health. It is common for a particularly catastrophic or injurious fall to lead to the wrongful death of a resident within months or a year of the fall. Falls can cause an array of injuries to a resident. All of the injuries are dangerous, but fractures may be debilitating and require surgery or physical therapy to correct or help heal.

Some of the most common fractures due to Oregon nursing home falls include the following:

  • Hip fractures, which often require extensive surgery and rehabilitation
  • Pelvic fractures that can lead to long-term mobility issues
  • Lower extremity fractures involving the foot, ankle, tibia and fibula, femur, and knee joint
  • Vertebral fractures causing chronic pain and potential neurological complications
  • Upper extremity fractures affecting arms and wrists
  • Facial fractures, including devastating orbital blowout fractures and eye or socket injuries
  • Rib fractures that can compromise respiratory function, and
  • Many other types of fractures that could be life-changing.

In addition to these injuries, victims of Minnesota or Oregon falls and fractures in nursing homes may suffer other damages and ramifications in this type of personal injury accident. Some of these secondary consequences include the following:

  • Decreased mobility leading to muscle weakness
  • Increased risk of pressure ulcers or bedsores
  • Development of anxiety and depression
  • Reduced independence and quality of life
  • Heightened risk of subsequent falls
  • Failure of other health consequences that could spiral to result in a victim’s early death, and
  • Other secondary injuries that result in loss of consortium, increased medical bills, transfers, and other impacts that a nursing home falls lawyer in Oregon like ours a Kuhlman Law could help you and your family recover.

Our Oregon Falls and Fractures in Nursing Homes Lawyers in Bend, OR and Portland, OR can Help Victims and Their Families Today

Falls and fractures in nursing homes represent preventable tragedies that often result from systemic failures and negligent care practices. Understanding these issues is crucial for improving resident safety and holding facilities accountable for maintaining appropriate standards of care. Through proper prevention measures, adequate staffing, and vigilant monitoring, many of these incidents could be avoided, preserving the health and dignity of vulnerable nursing home residents.

Our Oregon falls and fractures nursing homes lawyer in Bend and Portland, Oregon, as well as in Minneapolis, MN, can help victims and their families recover compensation for their personal injuries, medical bills, and their conscious pain and suffering as a result of nursing home abuse, neglect, or negligence. To learn more about your rights to compensation and how Kuhlman Law can help you and your family, contact us today to schedule a free consultation with our legal team.

Victims of Any Falls and Fractures in Nursing Homes Should Call Kuhlman Law

If you or a loved one have been seriously injured or killed as a result of nursing home abuse or neglect contact the Oregon Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers at Kuhlman Law at our number below or fill out the intake form.  We offer a free initial case evaluation and handle cases on a contingency fee which means that you pay no money unless we recover.  

We handle cases throughout the state including Bend and Portland Oregon, Redmond, Central Oregon, Multnomah County, Deschutes County, Salem, Eugene, Corvallis, Lane County, Medford, Gresham, Albany, Medford, Beaverton, Umatilla, Pendleton, and Hillsboro.   We also have an office in Minneapolis, Minnesota and take Nursing Home Abuse cases throughout the Twin Cities, including St. Paul, Hennepin County, Ramsey County, Dakota County, Washington County, Anoka County, Scott County, Blaine, Stillwater, and Saint Paul Minnesota.  

Please act quickly, there is a limited time (Statute of Limitations) in which you can bring a claim under the law.

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For more information on Medical Malpractice and Nursing Home Abuse, please also visit – StoppingMedicalMistakes.com

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