When an older person falls, recovering can be difficult. When we’re older, cells have long stopped regenerating strength and stability: Decreased bone density, muscle loss, and reduction of new cells are all a part of aging. If your loved one recently fell in a nursing home, do not wait to protect his or her rights. Call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today for a free consultation.
Risks of Falling in a Nursing Home
The impacts of a fall can be unpredictable, but the circumstances in which a fall can happen are well-known. That is why it is important that your loved one’s nursing home staff take into consideration all necessary safety precautions to avoid falls.
Damage Caused by Falls
Falls can result in physical and emotional injuries for your loved one. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the types of injuries caused by a fall:
- Broken bones: Bones can break during a fall if the impact of the fall is greater than the strength or bone density of the body part hit during the fall.
- Head and brain injuries: Several factors contribute to possible head and brain injuries in a fall. This is especially true if your loved one is regularly taking certain medications, like blood thinners.
- Fear and emotional damage: If your loved one fell and could not help themselves back up, there may be residual emotional damage left behind. Additionally, your loved one may lose confidence, independence, and feel embarrassed for falling. Emotional wellbeing is important for physical wellbeing, so this can induce a cycle of weakened health conditions for your loved one.
Simple injuries can make doing day-to-day activities even more difficult than usual for your loved one in a nursing home. Additionally, the damages your loved one faces after a fall can impact your whole family. This is to say that the fall can result in something more serious for your loved one and yourself, including the death of your loved one in a nursing home.
If after the fall, your loved one incurs more medical expenses like doctors’ bills, a need for extra medical and mobility equipment, and new medications, the cost could impact you significantly. Be sure to itemize your additional expenses, including any emotional costs, after the fall happens.
Navigating the litigation process can be tricky, so it may help to connect with a lawyer who can review your case. Our Stickney falls lawyers can help.
For a free legal consultation with a Falls Lawyer serving Stickney, call (800) 794-0444
Holding Nursing Homes Accountable for Falls
After a fall, it is important to review all potential liable parties involved with defending your loved one’s right to safe and quality care. Nursing home staff are aware of vigorous nursing home abuse and neglect laws intended to protect loved ones from needless injuries or deaths. However, patient-to-staff ratio remains high, and unreported neglect and abuse at nursing homes happen.
The 1987 Nursing Home Reform Act ensures that “residents of nursing homes receive quality care that will result in achieving or maintaining their ‘highest practicable’ physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being.” This means that all nursing home care must reasonably allow for freedom of expression, thought, movement, and more. If your loved one cannot safely do any of this, he or she must be accommodated according to special care needs. Nursing home staff are legally obligated to protect your loved ones from unnecessary accidents like falls, and in the event of something like that, it is their duty to respond in a timely and effective way.
Stickney Falls Lawyer Near Me (800) 794-0444
Legal Solutions for Nursing Home Negligence
After your loved one falls, begin organizing a legal case as soon as possible so that you can be compensated.
Illinois’s statute of limitations for personal injury cases related to nursing home neglect claims is usually two years. Other potential legal claims for a fall include wrongful death, medical malpractice, and breach of contract. Each of these claims has a specific coordinating statute of limitations. If that seems overwhelming, do not worry. Our legal team can advise you on your best options.
Most nursing home negligence cases can be resolved through a settlement in civil court. However, if our lawyers are unable to negotiate a settlement for your loved one’s pain, suffering, or medical costs, we will fight for them in court.
The Stickney falls lawyers at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm understand nursing home abuse and neglect laws, and they are eager to protect and defend your rights. Get the settlement you deserve, and return to normalcy when you begin discussing your case with a member of our team. Call us now for a free consultation.
Consult a Stickney Falls LawyerNursing home residents are vulnerable, and usually cannot protect themselves in legal battles. That is where our lawyers and litigation techniques will come into play.
Our lawyers work on a contingency basis, so we do not get paid until you receive an appropriate settlement. Call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm now for a free consultation.
Call or text (800) 794-0444 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
