The Illinois Department of Public Health cited and fined Leroy Manor in Le Roy after a resident sustained a head injury in a fall from the toilet.
The underlying facts leading to the nursing home fall which injured this resident are simple enough: the resident was cognitively impaired and requires extensive assist of two with toileting and was only able to stabilize herself with staff assist moving off and on the toilet. Her fall risk assessment scored as suffering from muscle wasting and atrophy. The staff was aware that she should not be left on the toilet unattended.
On the day of the accident, she was brought to the toilet by two aides and then the aide which was supposed to stay with her left to get toileting supplies. While she was gone, other staff members heard the fall and found the resident on the floor. She was brought to the emergency room for treatment of a head injury.
This is a case where the nursing home had in place a fall prevention care plan which would have prevented this accident: there was supposed to be a staff member attending to the resident while she was on the toilet. It may have only taken a moment for this aide to get the toileting supplies, but that was all that it took for this resident to be injured.
Understanding why a resident is a fall risk is helpful in keeping a resident safe. This resident was noted to have muscle atrophy and weakness, which is an indicator she likely had poor trunk control. Residents with poor trunk control are at higher risk for falls from chairs, wheelchairs, and from the commode (as happened here) because their lack of control over their trunk is likely to lead them to lean forward far enough that a fall can occur. The staff had this figured out – they just didn’t do what was needed to keep this resident safe.
Sadly, this is not the first time that Leroy Manor has made this blog because of nursing home falls involving its residents: see here and here.
One of our core beliefs is that nursing homes are built to fail due to the business model they follow and that unnecessary injuries and illnesses and wrongful deaths of residents are the inevitable result. Order our FREE report, Built to Fail, to learn more about why. Our experienced Chicago nursing home lawyers are ready to help you understand what happened, why, and what your rights are. Contact us to get the help you need.
Other blog posts of interest:
Failure to assist resident to bathroom at Heritage Health in Peru results in fall
Taylorville Skilled nursing home resident falls and breaks hip
Brain bleed from fall at Heritage Healthcare in Bloomington
Bria of Palos Hills cited after resident rolled from bed
Fall from commode at Pekin Manor
Click here to file a complaint about a nursing home with the Illinois Department of Public Health.