When your loved one falls multiple times in a nursing home, the pattern suggests more than bad luck or unavoidable accidents. Repeated falls can prove neglect in Naperville nursing homes if facilities fail to assess fall risks, implement proper prevention measures, or provide adequate supervision for vulnerable residents.
Falls are the leading cause of injury in nursing homes, but many are preventable with proper care protocols. While a single fall might occur despite reasonable care, multiple falls within a short timeframe indicate the facility is not meeting accepted standards of care.
If your loved one has suffered repeated falls in a nursing home, a nursing home abuse lawyer in Naperville can investigate whether negligent practices contributed to these incidents.
What Makes Nursing Home Falls Preventable?
Most nursing home falls result from identifiable risk factors that facilities should address. While not all falls are preventable, facilities should be able to show what steps they took to try to prevent the fall. Repeated falls may prove neglect in Naperville nursing homes. Here are some common reasons for falls in these facilities.
Medications
Medications causing dizziness, confusion, or low blood pressure increase fall risk. Proper medication management and monitoring reduce these dangers significantly.
Weakness and Balance Problems
Muscle weakness and balance problems affect many elderly residents. Physical therapy, regular exercise programs, and walking assistance help maintain strength and stability. Facilities that cut therapy services or allow residents to become sedentary increase fall likelihood.
Environmental Hazards
Environmental hazards like wet floors, poor lighting, clutter, and lack of handrails create unnecessary risks. Basic housekeeping, proper illumination, and safety equipment prevent many falls. When facilities ignore these hazards, they demonstrate negligence.
Dementia
Cognitive impairments from dementia or confusion cause residents to forget mobility limitations. These individuals need supervision to prevent unsafe behaviors like standing without assistance or wandering at night. Inadequate staffing makes proper supervision impossible.
General Health Conditions
Medical conditions affecting vision, blood pressure, or neurological function require monitoring and interventions. Facilities must identify these conditions during admission assessments and update care plans as health changes. Failure to account for medical factors that increase fall risk shows negligent care.
Some Required Fall Prevention Measures
Comprehensive fall risk assessments must occur at admission and after any incident or status change. The assessment evaluates mobility, balance, medication effects, cognitive status, and history of previous falls. Without proper assessment, facilities cannot implement appropriate prevention strategies.
Individualized care plans should address each resident’s specific fall risks with targeted interventions. If there is no plan or it’s not included, a repeated fall may prove neglect from your nursing home in Naperville. Care plans might include:
- Scheduled toileting to reduce bathroom-related falls
- Bed and chair alarms to alert staff when residents attempt to stand
- Non-slip footwear and properly fitted clothing
- Mobility aids like walkers or canes kept within reach
- Increased supervision during high-risk times
Staff training on fall prevention techniques ensures employees recognize risks and implement interventions correctly. Training should cover proper transfer techniques, use of mobility aids, responding to bed alarms, and recognizing medication side effects. Untrained staff cannot prevent falls effectively.
When Multiple Falls Indicate Negligence
Three or more falls in a six-month period without a strong explanation suggest systematic failures in care rather than isolated incidents. This pattern indicates the facility is not learning from previous falls or adjusting care plans appropriately. Each fall should trigger a review of prevention strategies and plan modifications.
If a resident keeps falling while attempting to use the bathroom alone, the facility should implement more frequent toileting assistance or provide a bedside commode. Continuing the same inadequate approach shows negligence.
When residents consistently fall during shift changes, meal times, or overnight hours, staffing may be too inadequate for resident needs. These preventable patterns reveal negligent management decisions.
Injuries That Result From Repeated Falls
Hip fractures are among the most serious fall-related injuries for elderly residents. These fractures often require surgery and lead to decreased mobility, increased dependence on care, and higher mortality rates. Multiple falls dramatically increase hip fracture risk.
Head injuries and brain trauma occur when residents fall and strike their heads. Elderly individuals on blood thinners face higher risks of serious bleeding from even minor head impacts. Repeated falls multiply the chances of catastrophic head injury.
Psychological trauma develops after multiple falls. Residents become fearful of moving, leading to reduced activity and accelerated physical decline. The fear of falling again creates anxiety that diminishes quality of life. This emotional harm is as real as physical injuries.
How to Prove a Pattern of Negligence
Incident reports filed by the facility provide details about how falls occurred and what circumstances contributed. Comparing multiple reports often reveals common factors like understaffing, ignored bed alarms, or delayed responses to call buttons. These patterns prove preventable causes.
Care plan reviews show whether the facility adjusted prevention strategies after each fall. Plans that remain unchanged despite repeated incidents demonstrate the facility is not taking falls seriously or lacks competence to address the problem. Static care plans prove negligence when falls continue.
Witness statements from family members, other residents, and staff can reveal the reality of care conditions. Family members often observe inadequate staffing, lack of supervision, or dangerous environmental conditions during visits. Staff members sometimes confirm understaffing or pressure to skip important safety protocols.
Contact Charlie Therman Injury & Accident Lawyers, P.C.
If your loved one has fallen repeatedly in a Naperville nursing home and you suspect neglect, contact Charlie Therman Injury & Accident Lawyers, P.C. for a free consultation. We’ll investigate whether the facility failed to implement proper fall prevention measures and hold them accountable for preventable injuries.
Choose Charlie for compassionate representation that fights to protect vulnerable residents and recover the compensation your family deserves.
