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Brain Injury Caused by Falling in a Nursing Home

 Posted on June 13, 2022 in Nursing Home Abuse

Chicago Nursing Home Neglect AttorneyThe brain controls everything from movement to thought processes. When the brain is injured in a fall, the victim can suffer irreparable health consequences. Some are unable to survive the damage caused in a fall accident.

Nursing homes and the employees who work there have a duty to prevent falls whenever possible. Falling can be deadly for ill and elderly nursing home residents. If your loved one suffered a brain injury in a fall while living in a nursing home, you may be able to sue the nursing home.

Consequences of Brain Injuries Can Be Devastating

Most people living in a nursing home are older and suffer from multiple health aliments. This makes falling especially dangerous. The CDC reports that fatal fall accidents resulted in the deaths of 34,000 people over the age of 65 in the year 2019 alone. There were an astounding 3 million emergency room visits for elderly fall victims in the same year.

Brain injuries that are not fatal can have severe consequences that impact the victims’ everyday lives, including:

  • Seizures

  • Confusion

  • Headaches

  • Nausea

  • Vomiting

  • Fatigue

  • Blurred vision

  • Dizziness

  • Depression

  • Anxiety

  • Problems sleeping

  • Memory loss

  • Difficulty concentrating

  • Problems with speech

Severe brain injury victims may fall into a coma or vegetative state. Recovery, if possible, may be long and arduous. The brain injury victim may need significant medical testing and treatment.

Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse Can Cause Brain Injuries

Nursing homes should be free of clutter or other trip and fall hazards. Staff should ensure that spilled liquids or other slippery substances are immediately cleaned up, so residents do not slip and fall. It is also crucial that nursing home staff are adequately trained in how to help residents in and out of bed without dropping them. Residents who have limited mobility should be encouraged to use a walker or wheelchair when moving about the facility. Failure to take precautionary action to prevent nursing home resident fall accidents can be considered neglect.

Sadly, some nursing home residents fall because of intentional abuse at the hands of staff. Nursing home workers who become frustrated may push a resident and cause a fall accident or fail to get medical treatment for fall victims in time. This type of abuse is unacceptable and illegal, but tragically, not unheard of.

Contact a Chicago Nursing Home Injury Lawyer

If your loved one fell and suffered a traumatic brain injury in a nursing home, contact Schwartz Injury Law to explore your legal options. You may be able to recover compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other damages. Call our Cook County nursing home neglect and abuse attorneys at 312-535-4625 today.

 

Sources:

https://www.cdc.gov/falls/index.html

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/traumatic-brain-injury/symptoms-causes/syc-20378557

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