Nursing homes should be a place where seniors who need care and assistance can live knowing their needs are going to be met by a qualified and caring staff. Unfortunately, not all Kentucky nursing homes serve their residents well. If you discover a loved one who lives at a nursing home has sustained unexplained injuries, it could be a sign that your relative is being mistreated.
Next Avenue points out, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), senior adults suffer great peril if they fall. Every year, close to 1,800 elderly persons who are nursing home residents die because of injuries sustained by falls. Seniors who survive a fall usually suffer permanent disability and their quality of life is worse off than before the fall.
There are a number of reasons why nursing home residents may sustain unexplained injuries. It may be because of mishandling by a nursing home staffer, but it could also be due to a lack of preventive measures in the facility. There may be insufficient grab bars for seniors to hold on to or the floors may be too slippery. Health care providers might also not review medication properly for a senior to see if the medicine causes balance problems.
Sometimes simple neglect on the part of nursing home staff can cause a senior to get hurt. Many nursing home residents need assistance with various tasks. If caretakers are not available to provide help, seniors may try to perform these tasks themselves, which puts them at greater risk of injury. Some seniors can fall and sustain injury simply by attempting to walk to the bathroom without any help.
Nursing home injuries are serious business. The frail nature of many seniors puts them at risk of disability or death if they get hurt. If a nursing home has failed to perform its duty and your elderly relative is seriously injured, you may choose to pursue compensation. Since nursing home injuries can happen in many ways, only read this article as general information and not as any legal advice for your situation.