Statistics provided by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) show that no group is more at-risk of being injured from a fall than the elderly. The term “elderly” may generally refer to those aged 65 years and older, and this group may:
- Have poorer balance than their younger counterparts
- Have weaker bones, which may be the natural result of aging
- May be more susceptible to suffering a serious injury such as broken bones, and a broken hip in particular
The CDC reports that as many as 3 million elderly individuals require emergency room treatment due to a fall each year, and your loved one may have recently become a part of this statistic. If you believe that somebody could have done something to prevent your loved one’s fall, or somebody directly caused your loved one’s fall, then you may have grounds for a lawsuit.
Call our team at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today at (800) 794-0444 to learn how a Los Angeles elderly slip and fall attorney may serve you and your loved one.
Caregivers Should Know the Risks of Slips and Falls in the Elderly
Many elderly individuals who suffer a slip and fall accident do so in a nursing home. California houses as many as 400,000 people in facilities that could be designated as nursing homes (or similar types of facilities), according to the California Association of Health Facilities (CAHF).
400,000 nursing home residents are a lot to keep up with and to care for properly, and there are some indications that not all residents receive the care that they deserve or the level of care that their loved ones or Medicare pay for.
The advent of coronavirus has dragged nursing homes back into the spotlight as hotspots of outbreaks, and prior problems affecting California’s nursing home network emerged as a result. According to ABC 7:
- Approximately 95% of California’s nursing homes that were the location of coronavirus outbreaks (as of late April 2020) had insufficient plans in place to protect residents and staff from possible viral outbreak
- Those nursing homes had previous instances of disease or virus outbreaks where staff were notably unprepared to contain the infection, and additional residents became ill as a result
- As of April 22nd, 76% of nursing home coronavirus cases originated in Southern California, with Los Angeles being a relative hotspot for nursing home coronavirus outbreaks
The failures of Los Angeles nursing homes, and nursing homes across the state, may serve as a warning sign to family members of nursing home residents. These facilities do not always provide the level of care of protection that you hope, or that your loved one deserves.
If your loved one slipped and fell in their nursing home, it could be an indication of deep-seated safety issues in the home where they live.
Nursing Home Negligence May Flow from the Top-Down
There are several steps that leadership in your loved one’s nursing home may do, or should do, in order to reduce the risk of your loved one slipping and falling. Some of these actions include:
- Teaching, emphasizing, and reinforcing the importance of direct caregivers escorting residents who may be at risk of falling
- Enforcing strict, no-compromise regimens for preventing and cleaning slipping hazards such as puddles and other slick spots on nursing home walkways
- Having measures for clearly identifying patients that may be at risk of falling, so that even brand-new nursing home staffers would know to take special precautions with such residents
- Heavily emphasizing a safety-first, and safety at all costs attitude among all nursing home administrators and staff
Just as a serious attitude regarding resident safety may permeate from leadership of a nursing home down to all staffers, so can a negligent attitude regarding safety matters. Insufficient seriousness about protecting residents may:
- Cause staffers to become apathetic about their jobs in general, and specifically the safety of residents
- Instill a culture of unaccountability where staffers do not believe they will be seriously disciplined for instances where they put a resident’s safety—or life—at risk
- Affect virtually every aspect of a nursing home, contributing to a general environment that is dangerous for residents such as your loved one
Your loved one could have been the victim of both general and acute negligence if they slipped, fell, and were injured in their nursing home. Speaking with a Los Angeles elderly slip and fall lawyer may shed light on your options for pursuing justice.
Call our team at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today for a free consultation.
Pursuing Liability for an Elder Slip and Fall Injury
Our lawyers pride themselves on defending the defenseless, and if your loved one is an elderly nursing home resident, then there is a chance they have little recourse to defend themselves. Our law firm will take on their fight for justice.
Some duties of a slip and fall attorney may include:
- Investigating all aspects of the nursing home where the slip and fall occurred, including its present conditions, past allegations of negligence against the home, and the specific circumstances that caused your loved one to slip and fall
- Documenting any dangerous conditions in the nursing home
- Organizing evidence of the nursing home’s negligence into an argument that your loved one was the victim of the home’s negligence
- Documenting your loved one’s injuries and obtaining testimony from their doctors about the nature, severity, and cause of their injuries
- Calculating your loved one’s losses and formulating a request for compensation
- Representing your loved one through all aspects of their lawsuit
- Defending your loved one’s rights
While you focus on finding your loved one a safe place to live (should you choose to move them) and helping them recover from their slip and fall accident, a lawyer will handle your lawsuit.
For a free legal consultation with a Slip and Fall Accidents Lawyer serving Los Angeles, call (800) 794-0444
Call an Elderly Slip and Fall Attorney Serving Los Angeles Today
Our goal is to protect your loved one from enduring any further harm, and we will not shy away from your loved one’s case for compensation because it is tough. Call our team at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today at (800) 794-0444 to learn about the services that a Los Angeles elderly slip and fall lawyer may provide.
With Pintas & Mullins, you will pay no out-of-pocket costs and we will only collect a fee as a portion of any settlement or judgment that we help your loved one secure.
Call or text (800) 794-0444 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
