Meadowbrook Manor in Naperville was cited by IDPH and fined $25,000 after a resident suffered a nursing home fall while unsupervised in the dining room.
The resident at issue suffered from dementia and was wheelchair-bound. She had a history of falls and had demonstrated frequent confusion. She also had a history of demonstrating impulsive behavior including attempting to get up out of her wheelchair unassisted.
The nursing home was short-staffed the morning that the resident fell, so a CNA assisted her in going to the bathroom, getting dressed, and then brought her down to the dining room before leaving to get another resident. The resident was left unattended and unsupervised at that point. A few minutes later, the resident’s chair alarm sounded. Staff responding to the alarm came into the dining room and found the resident on the floor having suffered an obvious hip fracture. The wheel locks to the resident’s wheelchair had not been applied.
IDPH issued a citation to the nursing home based on its failure to follow the regulations which require the nursing home to provide supervision and assistance as needed to prevent accidents.
Residents such as this one who have musculoskeletal issues, have a history of falls, have a history of impulsive behavior, and who either suffer from dementia and/or constant or intermittent confusion are residents who are by definition at high risk for falls. This is because the resident’s mental state is such that they cannot be counted on to follow steps to assure their own safety. This is especially true of residents like this one who have a history of demonstrating impulsive behaviors.
Short-staffing played a role in producing this fall as well. The nursing home was short-staffed that morning because one aide had called in and was not at work that day and the remainder of the staff was busy attending to other residents’ morning needs. This is an indicator that the margins for the staff being able to complete its daily tasks was so thin that missing a single person caused there to be no one available to supervise residents in the dining room.
Our firm regularly represents families of residents who have been injured as a result of falls in nursing homes. Contact our experienced Chicago nursing home lawyers to get information and advice about your legal rights after a nursing home fall.
Other blog posts involving nursing home falls:
Resident breaks both legs in fall from bed at The Grove of Fox Valley
DuPage Care Center resident burned by hot packs during therapy
Wheelchair accident at Avanti Wellness
Resident left on edge of bed at Manorcare – Libertyville falls
Fatal injuries in fall from wheelchair at Rosewood of Elgin
Fall results in fractured hip at Villa of South Holland
Click here to file a complaint against a nursing home with the Illinois Department of Public Health