The Good Samaritan Nursing home in Knoxville, Illinois failed to adequately address a pattern of nursing home falls for a resident which resulted in a brain contusion and broken nose after the resident fell 4 times in just 8 days. Just one day after the brain contusion and broken nose, the resident fell again, this time opening a large wound in his head that required staples to close.
The resident suffered from dementia and Wernicke’s encephalopathy, a disorder characterized by three main symptoms: confusion, eye paralysis, and a loss of coordination.
These two conditions can predispose a patient to nursing home falls. While you and I might not be familiar with Wernicke’s encephalopathy, doctors and nurses at Good Samaritan Nursing Home absolutely should be, and interventions should have been put in place to prevent any nursing home falls. The fact that a half a dozen falls took place, complete with escalating injuries, is a clear sign of nursing home neglect.
In addition to the encephalopathy and dementia, the resident was also taking a host of additional medications that may have contributed to his risk of nursing home falls including Fentanyl, Depakote, Haldol, Ultram, Zyprexa, and Trazodone.
Nursing homes are obligated to conduct a fall risk assessment of every nursing home resident in their care. Any score over 10 indicates a high risk of falls. This resident scored a 16. Clearly the Good Samaritan Nursing Home was aware that extreme care needed to be taken, yet they failed to protect him by putting interventions in place to prevent falls. On numerous occasions the resident was reportedly found wandering from room to room.
If you have a loved one who has been injured after numerous falls in an Illinois nursing home, contact my law offices for a free and confidential evaluation of your case. At my law firm we never charge a fee unless we take, and win, your case.
Other blog posts on nursing home falls:
Resident rolled from bed at Manorcare of Wilmette