A pair of nursing home falls that took place at the Symphony of Crestwood nursing home in Crestwood, Illinois illustrate two separate ways that nursing home neglect can contribute to nursing home falls and serious injuries.
The first injured resident was admitted to the nursing home with doctor’s orders for skilled physical therapy to reduce the likelihood of a nursing home fall. Physical therapy was supposed to be given five times a week for a month.
Five days after the 85-year-old was admitted to facility, the woman experienced her first nursing home fall when she was found on the floor of her room with a large bruise on her forehead. She was taken to the hospital and released back to the facility. She had been given zero physical therapy sessions up to that point.
Fourteen days later, the Symphony of Crestwood resident was found near her bedside with extensive bleeding from her nose and forehead.Once again, she was hospitalized and released. Still, there had been no physical therapy sessions given.
The second resident was 62-years-old and required extensive assistance when being moved from one surface to another. Transfers like this – bed to chair, chair to toilet – are common in nursing homes. As a rule, when a resident needs help with transfers of this nature, a minimum of two nursing home staff are required to assist.
There’s a reason for that. A single staff member, no matter how strong, cannot offer support to both sides of the resident. Without that support, nursing home falls are common. It comes as no surprise then, that a nursing home fall resulting in a fractured leg occurred when a single nursing home staff member was assisting in transferring the Symphony of Crestwood resident.
One of the great difficulties of a nursing home fall lawsuit is that there are so many different ways that nursing home neglect can contribute to a fall. If you have a loved one who has been injured in a nursing home fall, and you feel that nursing home neglect played a role, contact our Chicago nursing home lawyers for a free and confidential evaluation of your case.
Other blog posts of interest:
Failure to follow care plan leads to fall at Tower Hill in South Elgin