Nursing homes should be safe places for seniors and other people who need living assistance. Many nursing home residents are infirm and at risk of serious injury from falls, so the staff should be careful to protect them from that possibility. Unfortunately, nursing homes too often fail in this mission, which can make them liable to those injured.

In fact, recent statistics on nursing home falls are alarming. They show that a majority of residents fall at least once each year and about one-third of residents fall two or more times a year. Moreover, 10 percent of falls in nursing homes result in serious injury. Seniors residing in nursing homes are four times as likely to die from falls as seniors as a whole.

Many of these nursing home falls are preventable if the staff exercises proper care. Many falls are caused or worsened by nursing home attendants who:

• Fail to respond to residents’ requests for assistance with moving
• Fail to give residents the physical support they need when they stand, walk or transfer into a wheelchair
• Fail to position or secure patients in a safe manner before leaving them
• Allow residents to access areas with slippery floors, items strewn on the floor or other fall risks
• Fail to pay special attention to residents with a history of falling

Under Connecticut law, nursing homes are liable for the negligence of their employees, even if the nursing home’s owners or management were not involved in the accident. Management can also be at fault for:

• Failing to train staff to prevent slip and falls
• Insufficiently supervising staff
• Failing to assess individual residents for medical issues that can pose risks of fall and to communicate those risks to the staff
• Failing to ensure proper medical attention to prevent or alleviate aggravating medical conditions that pose fall risks
• Providing faulty and poorly maintained equipment and furniture

Many nursing home falls can be traced back to poor management.

Nursing home residents who fall and injure themselves should contact a slip and fall attorney to investigate the accident and to represent them in pursuing claims for damages. The nursing home can be held liable as long as it is at least 50 percent at fault for the accident. Damages may include medical bills and compensation for pain and suffering, emotional trauma, disfigurement and other harm.

Gesmonde, Pietrosimone & Sgrignari, L.L.C. represents Connecticut nursing home residents and their families in slip and fall cases. Please call 203-745-0942 or contact us online to schedule a consultation in our East Haven or Hamden office.