Broken bones and bone fractures are common types of injuries in nursing home accidents. Some of these bone fractures and breaks may be purely accidental.
However, other bone fractures and breaks may not be accidental. Some of these breaks may be a result of physical elder abuse in the nursing home. Your loved one may have been pushed or grabbed so hard that a bone fracture occurred.
If your loved one has suffered a fall in a nursing home, and you suspect elder abuse or neglect played a part, a Tulsa bone fractures and breaks lawyer from Pintas & Mullins Law Firm might be able to help you. Our lawyer can help you uncover any possible negligence in assisting your loved one or any other wrongdoing that may indicate abuse in the nursing home. Call a member of our team today.
Frequency of Falls
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that one in every five adults who fall tend to suffer serious personal injuries like a concussion, fractures, or broken bones. Older persons who fall may suffer from a broken hip or hip fractures.
In nursing homes, the frequency of falls is higher. That’s why it is important for nursing home staff to be vigilant in monitoring the residents. However, poorly-trained nursing home staffers may not always heed the call for help from a resident. When this happens, and falls or breaks occur, serious consequences can unfold.
Elderly residents in nursing homes frequently fall for a number of reasons. They may be very frail and wobbly on their feet. They may have decaying vision issues, which could lead to stumbling over unseen objects. Other problems that lead to increased falls with the potential for fractures and breaks include:
- Frail bones and body, which easily can break upon a fall
- Extreme challenges with walking due to age or health
- Body imbalance
- Dizziness, due to use of strong medication
- Unsteady walking because of medicines like sedatives, antidepressants, etc.
- Vision issues
The CDC notes that medical costs for falls among adults accounted for over $50 billion, with Medicaid and Medicare shouldering much of these costs.
Types of Bone Fractures
The types of bone fractures most commonly associated with seniors in nursing homes are:
- Hairline fractures: Very thin crack in the bone. These are the most initial types of fractures.
- Compound fractures: When the bone is cracked in several places. These are serious injuries for an older person, with very long healing times.
- Displaced fractures: When a part of the bone gets torn away.
- Spiral fractures: Bones breaking from limb twisting.
- Transverse fractures: Happened from a force applied to an injured limb.
If these bone fractures occur as a result of a resident falling, the nursing home could be found liable for damages in a lawsuit. A Tulsa bone fractures and breaks lawyer from Pintas & Mullins Law Firm might be able to help after learning of an accident involving your loved one in a nursing home. The attorney can help you build a case of negligence against the nursing home staff, especially if more than just an accidental fall is uncovered in the due diligence.
For a free legal consultation with a Tulsa Bone Fractures and Breaks Lawyer serving Tulsa, call (800) 794-0444
Oklahoma Statute of Limitations
If you have a loved one who has been harmed in a fall in a nursing home, you have up to two years in the state of Oklahoma to make a claim of negligence or elder abuse against the nursing home, according to Oklahoma Statutes of Civil Procedure § 12-95. This is known as the statute of limitations for giving a person the right to bring forth a case to move to court over a wrongful injury or personal injury.
You may not know right away that your loved one has suffered broken bones. The staff may be mum on details about a possible fall, or the loved one may not remember a fall that caused the fracture or bone breaks. Other medical conditions may start to appear.
That is why it is important to monitor your loved ones in a nursing home and report any deviations from the norm to authorities. Filing a personal injury lawsuit against the nursing home owners, staff, and insurers in this time frame may help you to recover financial damages for the harm suffered by your spouse or aging parent in the nursing home.
Tulsa Tulsa Bone Fractures and Breaks Lawyer Near Me (800) 794-0444
Building a Personal Injury Case
Filing a personal injury claim depends on multiple factors, including the type of injury suffered by your loved one, whether this injury was forced by the nursing home staff (or another resident), how long this injury might take to heal, and what effects it has had on your loved one.
You may suspect negligence or worse behavior among the staff or management of the nursing home that led to bone fractures or bone breaks to your loved one. You may even suspect elder abuse in the nursing home. In these cases, you can get legal representation to recover damages caused by the nursing home.
A Tulsa bone fractures and breaks lawyer can work with you to review all evidence in understanding the fractures or broken bones to your loved one. This would even include any potential medical signs that elder abuse is undergoing at the nursing home.
Our team can scout medical records, nursing home records, visitor logs, and any other occurrences that may have happened at the nursing home. After all this early work, we will work to get you a financial settlement.
Pintas & Mullins Law Firm has over 30 years of experience in dealing with personal injury cases and wrongful death cases in nursing homes. Our attorneys can help you understand your rights in filing a claim against the nursing home, and what you can expect in a court case. Call a member of our team today.
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