Nursing Home Falls Are Preventable — When a Fall Happens, It Is Often the Facility’s Fault
Falls are the most common cause of serious injury in nursing homes. Broken hips, femur fractures, subdural hematomas, and spinal injuries from nursing home falls frequently require surgery, lengthy rehabilitation, and can permanently end a resident’s ability to walk or live independently. In the worst cases, they are fatal.
New York regulations and federal CMS requirements are unambiguous: every nursing home must conduct a fall risk assessment for each resident and implement a fall prevention care plan. When a facility knows a resident is a fall risk and fails to act — by providing adequate supervision, bed alarms, non-slip footwear, low beds, or appropriate assistive equipment — that failure is negligence.
Common Nassau County Nursing Home Fall Scenarios We Litigate
- Resident fell while attempting to use the bathroom unassisted after call light went unanswered
- Resident fell out of bed because side rails were improperly raised or the bed was at wrong height
- Resident fell during an improperly performed transfer by an undertrained aide
- Resident with a documented history of falls was left unsupervised
- Resident fell multiple times in a short period and the facility failed to revise the care plan after each fall
- Resident with dementia wandered and fell in an unsecured area
The Legal Standard for Nursing Home Fall Cases in New York
To establish liability, we must show that: (1) the nursing home had a duty to protect the resident from falls; (2) the facility breached that duty by failing to implement adequate fall prevention measures; (3) that breach caused the fall; and (4) the resident suffered injuries as a result. In cases involving falls after repeated prior incidents, we also pursue claims under New York Public Health Law § 2801-d for deprivation of the resident’s right to an individualized, updated care plan.
Injuries We Commonly See in Nassau County Nursing Home Fall Cases
- Hip fractures — the most common serious fall injury, often requiring open reduction and internal fixation surgery
- Femur, wrist, and shoulder fractures
- Traumatic brain injuries and subdural hematomas
- Spinal fractures
- Facial lacerations and orbital fractures
- Death — hip fracture mortality rates in elderly patients are alarmingly high
If your loved one was injured in a fall at a Nassau County nursing home, call 212-347-0656 for a free consultation. Falls that follow from inadequate supervision are actionable.