Common Nursing Home Injuries

Nursing home residents face the risk of injury. Common nursing home injuries include traumatic brain injury, broken bones, spine and nerve damage, infection, medical errors, and more. Many common nursing home injuries are preventable.

Our Greenville Nursing home abuse lawyer explains nursing home injuries and how a lawyer can help.

Falls: The Leading Cause of Nursing Home Injuries

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association says that falls are some of the most dangerous and adverse events that happen in a nursing home. They say that up to 11% of nursing home residents will fall in one year. 48% of these falls will result in serious injury.

Nursing home falls may result in several common injuries, including:

• Traumatic brain injury, concussion, loss of consciousness, memory loss
• Fractures, including wrists, arms, and hips
• Sprained ankles and wrists
• Ligament and tendon tears, including the knee
• Cuts and bruises
• Spinal cord injury, nerve damage, paralysis
• Mental health injury (fear, depression, limitation of activity)

A fall in a nursing home may result from poor medical or personal care. There may be dangers in the facility, like poor maintenance, wet floors, and railings in disrepair. Poor storage may result in falling objects. Clutter or furniture too close together may cause a trip and fall accident.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that nursing home falls may decrease quality of life, including reduced patient mobility, mental health, pain, and increased risk of death.

Infections

An infection occurs when harmful organisms enter the human body, resulting in illness. Infection may be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites. As the body fights infection, a person may experience fever, chills, inflammation, swelling, aches, and other discomfort.

There are several reasons that an infection may occur in a nursing home. A lack of overall cleanliness can allow pathogens to spread. Care providers may not respond appropriately when there is a risk. The nursing home population may be especially vulnerable with a reduced ability to fight the infection.

An infection may affect one person, or it may affect multiple residents of a nursing home.

Medication Errors

When a medication error occurs in a nursing home, a patient may receive:

• The wrong medication
• Medication meant for someone else
• Too great or too small a dose
• Incorrectly timed medication
• Drugs dispensed in the wrong way
• Poor monitoring of a reaction
• Medicines that cause a harmful interaction or allergic reaction

A patient may experience complications, and they may not receive the treatment they need for their medical condition. They may suffer pain that could have been controlled. A nursing home injury from a medication error may cause additional injury, like a fall.

Malnutrition

Malnutrition is a type of nursing home injury. A person may not receive adequate general nutrition, or they may not receive nutrition that is appropriate for their specific needs.

Malnutrition may include inadequate hydration.

When a nursing home resident is malnourished, they may be more likely to fall. They may experience worse overall health outcomes, with a medical condition developing or worsening that could have been avoided. They may experience discomfort and irritability. Malnutrition may affect a person, or there may be a problem in nutrition services throughout a facility.

Bedsores

A CDC study found that 11% of nursing home residents have bedsores. Some factors may make nursing home residents especially likely to have bedsores, like a lack of independent mobility, chronic health conditions, and thinning skin because of age. The risk of bedsores may be reduced by using the right materials and fabrics, frequent position changes, and padding.

Burns

FEMA reported 2,700 fires in nursing homes in three years. Causes include cooking incidents, trash and incinerator malfunction, electrical and appliance problems, and fuel burning incidents.

When a fire occurs in a nursing home, residents may suffer various injuries, including burns. Residents may suffer from smoke inhalation. A person may be jostled in an evacuation.

Choking

Choking may occur when a nursing home resident is not positioned safely for eating. The resident may be rushed while eating. A physical condition may prevent them from eating safely.

The result may be harm from choking, including strangulation, pressure on the neck and trachea, and nerve damage.

How A Greenville Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Can Help

If you or a loved one is hurt with a nursing home injury, a lawyer can assist. A Greenville nursing home abuse lawyer can investigate the cause of injury. They can determine the value of a claim.

They can pursue compensation.

Contact

Jordan Law Center helps people who suffer nursing home injury and their families. Whether your nursing home injury is common or uncommon, we want you to receive justice. We invite you to contact us to talk to a lawyer.