The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) report revealed that nursing homes failed to report 43% of serious, hospital-bound falls among Medicare residents.
92% of residents who suffered major falls had documented balance issues, while 69% were on psychotropic medications. Nursing home head injuries often cause traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). And according to a Baton Rouge traumatic brain injury lawyer, these injuries can have lifelong physical, emotional, and financial consequences for victims.
When these preventable harms occur, family members have the right to pursue legal claims to seek compensation and accountability. But how? Let’s find out!
Common Causes of Nursing Home Head Injuries
Nursing home head injuries start from incidents that should not happen but result in dangerous outcomes because most accidents happen when people fall from unsafe flooring, insufficient lighting, and wet surfaces. In such cases, falls happen, causing severe consequences, including head trauma, fractures, and prolonged recovery periods, says nursing home head injury lawyer Thomas Pleasant.
Some staff members are negligent in their caregiving. This results in dangerous conditions for the residents.
The primary reason for accidents comes from wheelchair spokes and walker joints that people forget to maintain because they use mobility aids. Residents who fight each other create common head injuries because staff members do not supervise the area properly.
Nursing home head injuries increase when staff members implement unsafe safety protocols. This may be incorrect rug installation and grab bar placement. By knowing these things, you can make your nursing home family members’ lives safer and give them better care.
Understanding the Impact of Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) create severe outcomes for their victims because nursing home residents who experience these injuries become their most vulnerable. The damage from a TBI to the victim or the loved one may result in cognitive impairments, emotional changes, and physical impairments.
The possibility of TBI memory issues, concentration problems, and mood swings exists because these conditions create disruptions in daily life and personal relationships. TBI prevents a person who is used to standing on their own and going through daily activities from suddenly looking to someone else to hold them up.
The emotional and financial burden of these consequences includes upcoming treatments and therapy sessions. The realization of these goals enables the individual to start their recovery process while establishing a complete rehabilitation plan for their specific needs.
Nursing Homes’ Legal Safety Obligations
Nursing homes must fulfill their legal responsibility to protect resident safety. To ensure this, they must implement measures to prevent dangerous accidents that could cause severe injuries.
They need to provide safe environments to protect residents and visitors from any environmental hazards that might cause dangerous incidents.
The staff must be trained to prevent accidents and incidents in the facility in accordance with the established procedures. They must have regular assessments to evaluate the facility, identifying areas that need immediate corrective measures.
The facility needs to monitor all residents because they require special attention, particularly those who need fall risk security.
Proving Negligence in TBI Cases
The nursing home must show its failure to provide standard care as proof of its fault, which caused the patient’s brain injury. The element of the safe environment should be defined, which clearly links to such injury.
Evidence collection requires all incident reports and medical records. Include the testimonies from witnesses to support your case. Also, documented complaints from the previous years can serve as essential evidence that presents how the nursing home has past safety issues.
In this case, it’s important that the harm was caused by the nursing home’s failure to meet their duty of care.
Expert witnesses play a crucial role in proving the case. They explain the care standards that should be followed for residents and how the nursing home failed to meet those standards.
Steps Families Should Take After a Head Injury Incident
When a head injury happened in the home care facility, it can be a difficult situation for the family members. Seeking medical assistance is important so that doctors can assess how serious the injuries are.
Create a complete timeline that shows all events that led to the head injury while you document all witness statements. The nursing home staff needs to be informed about the incidents that occurred during their in-house care operations.
You should probably discuss the situation with an attorney who will follow the next steps to bring a claim for injuries against the owner. You need to maintain records of your medical treatments and all costs associated with your injury, which will help prove your recovery process.
Your active involvement in their rehabilitation requires you to provide resources for treatment and organize all needed subsequent medical appointments.
Conclusion
Nursing home head injuries result in permanent disability. Families need to understand their rights because this knowledge remains vital for them. The TBI claims process will proceed with negligence proof through upcoming assessments of facility operations and staff misconduct, which need to be established.
A person must start talking about a head injury to his or her beloved friend or family member so that he or she can document the incident and receive legal help with defense and prevention efforts because accountability should not be a problem for them.