As our nursing home attorneys in Charles County, Maryland have discussed in a previous blog post, falls in nursing homes and hospitals are a major problem today, with over 1,800 residents dying each year due to fall-related injuries, according to the CDC. Although only five percent of adults who are 65-years-old or older live in nursing homes, these people account for 20 percent of the fall-related fatalities.
The CDC reports that elderly residents and patients often fall more than once, with an average of 2.6 falls per person per year. This was allegedly the case with Gladys Feran, a resident of Larchwood Village Retirement Community, whose family is now suing the facility for neglecting to disclose that their mother had experienced 17 falls in 16 months, including the last nursing home fall, which reportedly contributed to her death.
Although people living in nursing homes are among the most frail and at-risk for falls, Feran’s family was reportedly shocked not only at the number of falls their mother experienced, but the failure of the nursing home to tell them about the falls.
Larchwood Village was cited by the state for not reporting a fall from 2008 that led a broken hip and collarbone for Feran. Feran reportedly fell while pushing another resident in a wheelchair, which her family later found out wasn’t the first time she had fallen from this kind of activity.
In April 2009, Feran experienced her final nursing home fall while turning off her television and after being checked out by a nurse, was put back on the couch. Feran was taken to the hospital one week later after experiencing serious pain, where she was diagnosed with a fractured pelvis. Two weeks later, Feran reportedly died of a lung infection that the coroner ruled was linked to the broken pelvis.
In Maryland and Washington D.C., contact Lebowitz & Mzhen today to discuss your nursing home rights.
Investigator Exclusive: Family sues when mom dies after undisclosed fall at nursing home, WKYC-NBC, February 1, 2011
Related Web Resources:
Falls in Nursing Homes, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: CDC