A nursing home should be a sanctuary for older people who require the assistance of caretakers since they can no longer take care of themselves. Unfortunately, some nursing homes do not provide proper care for their residents and neglect them in ways that can cause injury. While nursing home injuries can take different forms, some are more common than others.
According to FindLaw, older people are at particular risk of falling due to a weakness of the muscles or issues with gait, so nursing homes should be aware of fall risks and maintain preventive measures. Unfortunately, neglectful nursing homes may cause their residents to suffer falls. Seniors might fall due to wet floors, improper bed heights, and a lack of handholds and grips in shower rooms or restrooms. Bad lighting may also cause a senior to misjudge the surrounding environment while walking and cause a fall.
Nursing home staffers may also leave seniors in their beds unattended. Some seniors do not have the strength to shift around in their beds and can end up with bedsores. Bedsores are pressure ulcers that result from pressure applied too long to an area of the skin. Generally, bedsores form on places like hips, ankles, heels or the tailbone. Because some seniors cannot shift positions on their own, they may develop bedsores after a while.
As people get older, they develop age-related ailments that require medication. Since elderly residents in nursing homes require assistance, nursing home staffers are in charge of dispensing medicine to them. However, sometimes a staffer may administer the wrong medication, give too much of a dosage, or neglect to give medicine when the senior needs it. These errors can result in a number of health problems or even lead to death.
Nursing home injuries that result from negligence or abuse are a serious matter that families of a nursing home resident should deal with. Because seniors in nursing homes are generally in poor health, they may suffer a serious decline in health or possibly death if they suffer an injury.