The Alden Trails Nursing Home in Bloomingdale, Illinois committed a series of mistakes that resulted in a severe knee and ankle injury to one of their residents. The nursing home fall was a result of careless and sloppy care. Afterwards, Alden Trails compounded the error by failing to properly document the accident and provide adequate care for the recovering resident.
The incident occurred when a single nursing home staff member was attempting to transfer the resident from a shower bed to a wheelchair. The Alden Trails staff member had the resident in his arms when he slipped on the wet floor and spilled them both to the floor.
Any nursing home transfer the takes place in the lavatory or wash room is inherently dangerous. Bathroom floors are often slippery, especially after a shower. Attempting a single person transfer in such circumstances is always a mistake and often leads to nursing home falls. In fact, according to the Alden Trails documentation, a two person transfer is called for during any sit-to-stand or stand-to-sit transfer.
Additional discrepancies in the initial report also point to a nursing home unwilling to come to terms with its responsibilities. The initial report states that the Alden Trails staff member only transferred the resident to a wheelchair that was already in the bathroom. An interview with a Illinois Department of Public Health inspector reveals that the wheelchair wasn’t even in the room. The resident was carried over 10 feet!
After the fall, staff at Alden Trails failed to properly conduct an assessment of the injury. The report also indicates that staff failed to provide pain relief medication as ordered by the resident’s physician, causing the resident to experience intense, long-term pain and suffering.
At my law offices, our Chicago nursing home lawyers have experience investigating injuries caused from all varieties of nursing home falls. Our skilled investigators are trained to conduct interviews that uncover many more details than initial reports contain.
Other blog posts on nursing home falls:
Fall and brain bleed at Alpine Fireside
Fall and fractured neck at Manor Court
Poor fall prevention care planning at Meadowwood in Graville
Unsafe transfer at Alden Estates of Orland Park