As adults grow older, many factors increase their risk of a fall. Diminishing muscular strength, a shifting center of gravity and even joint issues can affect people’s balance and mobility.
Older adults aren’t just more likely to fall than younger adults. Those over the age of 65 are also more likely to suffer serious injuries like broken hips when they fall. Those injuries can impact someone’s quality of life or even lead to deadly medical complications.
A previous fall or close call may have convinced your family that your loved one belongs in a nursing home for their own safety. Unfortunately, negligent care at that nursing home might mean that your loved one falls again anyway.
Understaffing is a cause for concern
Older adults at high risk of a fall may need help from nursing home staff to get dressed, go to the bathroom or get something to eat. When there aren’t enough staff members on the clock, residents may have their needs or requests for assistance ignored by staff. They could wait long amounts of time for what should be a simple task.
An older adult frustrated by needing to wait to go to the bathroom or get something they need might try to do things on their own and suffer a fall. If chronic understaffing has been an issue at your loved one’s nursing home and your loved one says they fell because no one was there to help them, the care at the facility may have been negligent.
Recognizing the warning time of nursing home neglect, like a preventable fall, can help you protect your vulnerable loved one.
