She was 80 years old and had dementia. She was non-mobile and was identified as a significant fall risk.
These were the facts documented in her medical records. These were the warnings that followed her into the rehabilitation facility when she was discharged from the hospital on June 12, just days after undergoing hip surgery.
The rehabilitation facility received this information. They knew who she was. They understood her vulnerabilities. They knew that she required careful protection from falls. They had clear documentation that she was a high-risk patient who could suffer serious injury if she fell.
Within approximately 12 hours of her admission to that facility, she fell.
No fall precautions were in place.
The facility’s documentation would later tell conflicting stories about whether a fall had even occurred. One account said yes, it happened. Another minimized or denied the event. The facility’s own records contradicted each other, raising serious questions about what actually occurred and what the staff was trying to hide.
On June 16, just four days after her admission, she was transferred back to the hospital. She complained of severe leg pain. Medical evaluation revealed a fractured femur. She required surgery to repair the break.
She underwent a second surgical procedure in less than two weeks. Her recovery became longer, more complicated, more painful. Additional trauma was inflicted on an elderly body that had already endured major surgery.
Fortunately, with time and care, she showed improvement. She regained some mobility. She learned to use a walker. She recovered in ways that could have been lost forever.
But she should never have fallen. The fall should never have happened. The entire cascade of additional trauma was preventable.
Nursing Home Negligence and Legal Deception
Matthew Broderick represented this woman and her family in their nursing home abuse and neglect claim against the rehabilitation facility.
Our legal team recognized what had occurred: a vulnerable elderly woman with documented fall risk was admitted to a facility, and within hours, no precautions were in place to protect her. A fall occurred. The facility suffered serious injuries. The facility then contradicted itself about whether the fall had even happened.
That’s not just negligence. That’s negligence followed by attempts to conceal or minimize what happened.
Nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities have clear legal responsibilities toward residents. When a resident is identified as a fall risk, the facility must implement fall precautions. These might include bed alarms, grab bars, assistance with ambulation, monitoring, or other safety measures appropriate to the resident’s level of risk.
This facility received documented notification that this woman was non-mobile, had dementia, and was a known fall risk. They failed to implement any apparent fall precautions. When she fell within 12 hours of admission, it was a direct result of that negligence.
The conflicting accounts the facility later provided about whether a fall occurred raised additional concerns. Why would a facility provide contradictory documentation about such a serious event? What were they trying to hide?
We built our case on clear evidence of negligence: the failure to implement fall precautions for an identified high-risk resident, and the resulting injury that occurred when she fell.
But this nursing home fought accountability aggressively. They raised legal technicalities. They argued procedural issues. They insisted that various legal technicalities meant we couldn’t hold them responsible. They dragged out the litigation process, knowing that time favors defendants in these cases.
The Significance of This Win
This $500,000 settlement is recognition that nursing homes cannot hide behind legal technicalities when they fail to protect vulnerable residents. It’s accountability for a facility that admitted a high-risk resident, failed to implement basic safety precautions, and then contradicted itself about what happened.
This settlement sends a powerful message to nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities: your residents deserve protection. When you fail to implement fall precautions for residents you’ve identified as fall risks, you will be held accountable. When you try to hide behind legal arguments, competent legal representation will expose those arguments as insufficient.
Nursing homes often fight hard to avoid liability for falls. They argue that falls are common in elderly populations and cannot always be prevented. They suggest that the resident was at risk regardless of precautions. They hope that families won’t have the resources or determination to challenge their legal defenses.
We refused to accept those arguments.
This settlement reflects the true cost of the facility’s negligence: the additional surgery, the pain and suffering from a preventable injury, the extended recovery period, and the reality that basic fall precautions could have prevented this entire incident.
Matthew Broderick
“Nursing home abuse cases are more common than they should be, and I think the reason for that is that the majority of nursing homes and even assisted living facilities are owned in one way, shape, or form by private equity firms. So what this does is you’ve got nursing home companies that are focused on increasing revenue and decreasing costs, and the result of that is there is systemic understaffing at these facilities because staffing is your biggest cost, and when staffing is low, folks get hurt and unfortunately folks can die”.
Nursing Home Responsibility for Fall Prevention
Falls are the leading cause of injury and death among residents aged 65 and older in nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities. They are also among the most preventable injuries when appropriate precautions are implemented.
A resident identified as a fall risk is not simply a medical fact to be documented and ignored. It is a warning that requires action. When a nursing home admits a resident with documented dementia, limited mobility, and known fall risk status, that facility has a legal and ethical duty to implement fall precautions.
Fall precautions might include monitoring and supervision, bed alarms that alert staff when a resident attempts to get out of bed, grab bars in bathrooms and hallways, adequate lighting, removal of tripping hazards, assistance with ambulation, or appropriate medications to prevent dizziness or confusion. The specific precautions depend on the individual resident’s needs and level of risk.
This woman was non-mobile and had dementia. She posed a serious fall risk. The facility received clear documentation of these facts. Yet she was allowed to fall within 12 hours of admission, suggesting that no precautions or monitoring were in place.
The subsequent conflicting accounts about whether a fall occurred only compound the problem. A facility that cannot or will not accurately document what happened to a resident raises serious concerns about what happened and why it happened.
Elder Abuse and Neglect in Nursing Homes
Nursing home abuse and neglect can take many forms. Physical abuse, emotional abuse, financial exploitation, and neglect are all too common. Neglect, which includes failing to provide necessary care or protection, is among the most prevalent.
When a nursing home fails to implement fall precautions for a resident identified as a fall risk, that is neglect. The resident’s safety was compromised. Her vulnerability was known. The precautions were not implemented. She suffered injury as a result.
Families trusting their elderly loved ones to nursing homes must be able to rely on those facilities to provide appropriate care and protection. When facilities fail in that responsibility, and especially when they then misrepresent what happened, accountability is essential.
Protect Your Loved One from Nursing Home Negligence
If you or a family member has been injured due to negligence at a nursing home or rehabilitation facility, you deserve accountability. Nursing home abuse and neglect cases can be complex, but when negligence is clear, victims deserve full compensation.
Nursing home negligence can include failure to provide necessary care, failure to prevent falls, failure to administer medications properly, failure to protect from abuse by other residents or staff, and inadequate supervision. When these failures result in injury, the facility bears responsibility.
Our legal team has experience pursuing nursing home abuse and negligence cases against facilities that prioritize profit over resident safety. We know how to overcome legal technicalities and hold facilities accountable.
Get Fair Compensation for Nursing Home Negligence
If you believe a nursing home or rehabilitation facility has been negligent in caring for you or your loved one, don’t delay. The legal process in nursing home abuse cases takes time, and there are strict deadlines for filing.
We work on a Zero Fee Guarantee: no win, no fee. Schedule your free consultation today and discuss your case with our legal team. We’ll listen to your story, review your loved one’s medical records and facility documentation, and explain what your case is worth.
Your family members deserve protection. Nursing homes must be held accountable when they fail to provide it.
