Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog
Nursing and rehabilitation center falls continue to be a serious problem for residents who are recovering from surgery, weak, and have difficulty walking or caring for themselves. As our Washington D.C. nursing home negligence attorneys have stated in a blog, nursing home falls can be frequent, painful, debilitating, and can lead to death, with over 1,800 residents dying each year from falls in nursing homes, hospitals and rehabilitation centers, according to the CDC.
In recent news, the family of nursing and rehabilitation resident Robin Volpe has been awarded over $1 million, after the family brought a wrongful death case against the Heather Knoll Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, operated by Sprenger Health Care Systems.
According to the original lawsuit, Volpe entered the rehabilitation center to recover from back surgery of 2006. In July, Volpe reportedly fell while leaving her bed to go to the bathroom, breaking her wrist, hip, and striking her head—injuries that her family claim led to her death one week later. The jury stated that Volpe was left unattended for 2.5 hours before enduring the fall, which led to her leaving her bed. The jury claimed that the center should have a system in place to warn staff if the patient leaves the bed, to reduce nursing home falls and injury. The nursing home is reportedly appealing the case, claiming that a bedside button was available for her to ask for assistance and wait for help.
If a Maryland nursing home or rehabilitation resident becomes injured or dies because the home failed to protect the safety and health of the resident, the nursing or rehabilitation home could be held liable for negligence or wrongful death. Our Baltimore-based attorneys at Lebowitz and Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers represent victims and their families that wish to recover personal injury compensation from nursing home negligence and harm. Call us today at 1-800-654-1949.
Jury Awards $1 million in wrongful death, Tallmadge Express, January 30, 2011
Related Web Resources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Falls in Nursing Homes
Related Blog Posts:
Undisclosed Nursing Home Falls Lead To Lawsuit After Resident’s Death, Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog, February 1, 2011
Nursing Home Sued For Failing to Prevent Resident’s Death from Pressure Sores, Falls, Maryland Nursing Home Blog, December 27, 2010