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It is a sad fact that dropped patients are a common cause of nursing home injuries.
In nursing homes, there are frequent needs that require staff to carry or pick up patients. When patients need to transfer between a wheelchair and their bed, or the toilet, or in the shower, they often require the assistance of staff. Many residents just cannot go to the bathroom or get in bed safely. Even the strongest patients need help getting up at the occasion. Nursing homes are responsible to their patients’ safety, comfort, and quality of life, which include the ease of mobility with assistance. Unfortunately, mishandling patients or dropping them can become commonplace when nursing homes fail to fulfill their responsibilities to their patients.
Every year, thousands of nursing home patients are dropped. A great amount of these incidents lead to serious injuries. There are multiple causes of dropped patients in nursing homes. They all revolve around mismanagement of hiring, lack of training, or faulty equipment. When patients are dropped, it can cause a great deal of trauma. In addition, dropped patients are often a sign that the nursing home has:
- Staff with bad judgment of the situation, either through lack of training or under qualification
- Lack of protocol for how to handle situations in which patients need to be picked up or carried
- Poorly maintained equipment or lack of equipment
- Insufficient staff available to safely lift and transport patients
You don’t have to accept that your loved ones are dropped in their nursing home. Many patients suffer from serious injuries when they are dropped, ranging from broken or fractured bones to organ damage and brain injury. In some situations, patients have died from being mishandled. These injuries are often so drastic because patients are already in a weakened state and they are often unable to position themselves safely. If you suspect that there is a problem with dropping in nursing homes or your loved one has been dropped, it is very important to reach out to an Illinois nursing home abuse lawyer.
Discuss Injuries with a Nursing Home Lawyer
Has your loved one been dropped or injured in any other way? Our Chicago nursing home neglect and abuse attorneys at Harvey L. Walner & Associates, Ltd. may be able to help. We can be reached online or at (312) 313-2888. Please don’t wait too long to contact us!
