Nursing Home Slip and Falls in Georgia
While most people think of grocery stores or sidewalks when they hear the term slip and fall, nursing homes are in fact one of the most common locations for this type of accident. Nursing homes are intended to offer the elderly a safe place that provides the care and attention they need, accidents can and do still occur. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that about 1,800 older adults living in nursing homes die as a result of falls each year. Those that survive may experience serious injuries that can cause a prolonged recovery time and reduced quality of life.
The Georgia personal injury attorneys at Montlick and Associates, Attorneys at Law, believe that our elderly need to be treated with the utmost care and respect. We believe that nursing homes should be held accountable for providing quality care, which includes taking adequate steps to prevent slip and falls.
Nursing Home Slip and Fall Factors
There are numerous conditions within a nursing home that can lead to a slip and fall, including, but not limited to:
• Poor lighting
• Lack of bedrails
• Lack of call buttons or broken call buttons
• Wet and slippery floors
• Restraint abuse
• Improper bed height
• Tripping hazards within rooms or hallways
• Improper use of medication, especially psychoactive drugs which cause unsteady gaits and dizziness
• Failure to properly supervise residents
• Staffing shortages
• Improperly marked exits
• Poorly fitted wheelchairs
• Poor foot care
• Weakness due to dehydration or malnutrition
• Failure to fully train staff as to lifting and assisting techniques
• Improper footwear provided to residents
Nursing homes can be held accountable for slip and fall accidents involving their residents when the slip and fall is the result of negligence on the part of the nursing home or its staff. They also have certain duties to care for their residents in a proper manner and must complete an intake report on all new residents, which will likely include an assessment of their fall risk, along with their medical and physical needs. The risk assessment should include a full list of the patient's medications, noting when medications can impact gate and steadiness, as well as fall history.
In the event of a serious slip and fall, the nursing home's actions, or inaction, will need to be assessed. Your attorney will look to the cause of the fall, uncovering any negligent actions made in medicating the patient, monitoring the fall victim, or fixing dangerous conditions within the nursing home that lead to the fall.
Put Our Law Firm's Over 39 Years of Legal Experience to Work For You!
If your loved one has been injured in a nursing home slip and fall, you will need the assistance of a skilled attorney to seek the compensation which your relative deserves. The Georgia Personal Injury Lawyers at Montlick and Associates, Attorneys at Law, assist injured accident victims across Georgia and in the Southeast. Our firm has over 39 years of experience and we are committed to providing zealous representation to each injured client. The sooner you act after your accident, the greater your chances of obtaining a full recovery. As such, it is important that you seek the assistance of a licensed lawyer as soon as possible.
Call Montlick & Associates, Attorneys at Law, 24 hours a day/7 days a week for your Free Consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333). You can also visit us online at www.montlick.com and use our Free Case Evaluation Form or 24-hour Live Online Chat.
Source:
http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/falls/nursing.html