Nursing Home Patient Broken Bone Accident Lawyers

Elderly men and women in the Chicago area are often extremely vulnerable to broken bones and the increased potential of serious fractures. Aging individuals 65 years and older, especially women, suffer from a variety of bone diseases including osteoporosis, where the mineral density of bone is greatly reduced. In fact, the highest number of bone fractures in nursing home patients occur to both men and women 75 years and older.

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC represents Chicago nursing home patients who have suffered a broken during their admission to a facility. If your loved one sustained a fracture during a nursing home admission as a result abuse or neglect on the part of the facility let our team investigate and prosecute the incident without any cost or obligation on your end. Our office has experience with nursing home fracture cases and is ready to get started with your case today.

Types of Fractures Sustained by Nursing Home Patients

Broken bones can happen as traumatic fractures, stress fractures, or spontaneous fractures. Traumatic bone fractures in nursing home patients are typically the result of a serious fall, with associated trauma. A spontaneous fracture, often referred to as a compression fracture, usually occurs without trauma, in the hip or spine. These types of fractures usually happen in nursing home patients suffering from osteoporosis, when the bones become brittle and weakened.

A stress fracture is a small bone crack usually a result of repetitive motion or overuse, and often occurs in the feet and legs. In many nursing home scenarios, stress fractures go unnoticed until they become increasingly painful and severe over time. However, early treatment of a stress bone fracture can be crucial to ensure the patient recovers properly. Because of that, residents of nursing homes suffering stress fractures should have a modified care plan to ensure the best recovery.

It is essential that nursing home facilities develop an effective care plan to treat a spontaneous fracture properly. The care plan is necessary to ensure that walking is performed correctly to improve the strength of the bone, as an effective component in the recovery program. Over-strenuous walking can exacerbate the condition during the healing process and might contribute to additional fractures.

Negligent Nursing Home Care Leaves Some Patients With Broken Bones

Unfortunately, nursing home facilities are often understaffed or mismanaged. The staff does not always pay close attention to the patient’s needs or provide the best methods to prevent broken bones. In addition, broken bones are not always identified quickly or treated as soon as they occur.

In some incidences, the negligent actions of the staff or facility can cause bones to fracture when the patient falls or performs an inappropriate movement. Some negligent actions include:

• Any time the staff drops a patient when attempting to move or lift her or him
• Inadequate staffing at a busy facility
• Lack of proper training in handling the patient’s mobility requirements
• Lack of proper supervision, such as accidents with wheelchairs
• Inadequate staffing to monitor patients and prevent them from wandering away
• Any hazardous condition that leads to a trip and fall, or slip and fall, accident

One way to provide adequate care is to develop a resident health plan for every patient suffering from osteoporosis. This will ensure that the best foods for preventing bone loss are consumed. Every osteoporosis patient menu would include a balance of dairy products, leafy vegetables, tofu, salmon and almonds, along with other foods that provide adequate supplies of Vitamin D and calcium. Most importantly, it is essential that the nursing home quickly identify any fracture as soon as it occurs, to provide the resident proper medical treatment.

Catastrophic Results Related to Elderly Sustaining Fractures in Nursing Homes

Fractures in nursing home patients can produce catastrophic results, by decreasing his or her quality of life, creating a dangerous secondary serious medical condition, or even death. Broken bones need to be quickly identified and properly treated under the best care. Even under the best conditions, rehabilitation of a fracture can take months for full physical and emotional recovery. In the meantime, the patient often becomes immobile, producing other medical issues including the development of bed sores and hygiene problems.

Nursing Home Broken Bone Claims and Awards

$340,000 Illinois Settlement; Nursing Home Broken Bone Case

The plaintiff in this nursing home dispute was over one hundred years old. To be specific, she was one hundred and three years old. Obviously, with that age, she needed attention-medical and otherwise-on a constant basis. To receive the proper care she required, she entered an Illinois nursing home. While a staff was helping her move around her room, she fell down. Since she was frail, her injuries were severe. She broke her fifth metacarpal on her right hand and her hip bone. Also, she suffered a neck fracture. As she recuperating from these injuries at the same location, she developed a bed sore on her heel. After this whole ordeal, she decided to bring suit. She sued the nursing home for negligence. Her complaint cited the defendant facility with negligent care and supervision. She pointed to her injuries, the costs that arose, and the long-term suffering as proof of its negligence. The defendant offered a stock reply. However, this case was not decided in trial. Both sides settled for a reported $340,000.

$400,000 Illinois Settlement; Nursing Home Broken Bone Case

Here, the victim was a female nursing home resident in her middle seventies. She was a long-term resident. Due to her age and infirmity, she needed a lot of help moving around the home, using the washroom, changing, and getting out of bed. Her doctors said that she was a high risk for falling and injuring herself. To account for this, the nursing home devised a tailored plan for her care. However, on the day in question, a nurse deviated from the prescribed policies and procedures. She attempted to get the resident into bed without a gait belt. She dropped the resident and the woman fractured her femur. The woman also sustained other personal injuries. She sued the nursing home for negligence. She sought compensation for the pain, disability, and expenses that the accident created. The defendant nursing home did not have much to resort to because they did not follow their own plan. Faced with this reality, they chose to settle. The woman received $400,000.

$799,000 Illinois Settlement; Nursing Home Broken Bone Case

This lawsuit was brought by a 70-year-old woman. She lived in an Illinois nursing home. Her health was relatively good prior to the events which gave rise to this case. The dispute kicked off when another person living there ran into her with her wheelchair. The wheelchair was electric and could reach high speeds. Also, according to allegations contained within the suit, the driver had been operating the wheelchair recklessly prior to the incident on a number of occasions. She had poor muscle control and should not have been driving it herself. Nevertheless, the woman crashed into the plaintiff. The accident caused significant injury. She broker her ankle. That required substantial medical attention. It also cost a lot of money and decreased her standard of living by adding pain and disability. The woman sued for all of this. She was able to bring in the nursing home when evidence emerged that staff knew the driver was reckless and took no action. At that point, the defendant wanted the case settled and done. The woman obtained $799,000 in compensation.

$225,000 Illinois Settlement; Nursing Home Broken Bone Case

The target of this case was an Illinois nursing facility. The man that brought it was eighty and had lived there for a long time prior the accident. He was sleeping on an inflatable bed. Reports differ as to why he was not resting on a traditional bed. Whatever the case, one night he rolled off of it and broke his hip. The fracture took a lot of care and time to heal. Plus, it cost him over $100,000 in medical bills. He still complained about the pain and limited mobility it caused him. To makeup for this change in life, he sued the nursing home. His lawsuit contended that it knew he was a risk for falls but did not erect proper safeguards to protect him. Consequently, he fell and sustained personal injuries, financials costs, and other losses. The defendant argued some of the blame should be shared by the plaintiff himself. However, in the end, it would not claim that it was blameless in the matter. After all, it did set up bedrails or similar preventative devices. In a private settlement, the man got $225,000 in compensation-almost double his medical bills.

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC have enjoyed success in dealing with nursing home negligence cases throughout Illinois. Whenever an elderly individual suffers a broken bone in a nursing home, while under the care of others, it might be the result of negligent actions by the staff and/or facility. Because of that, it is imperative to seek legal options for financial compensation.

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC assist Illinois nursing home abuse victims in their recovery for the suffering, pain, damages and injuries they have endured. In addition, legal representation can hold the responsible parties accountable for their actions, and save other patients from the reckless disregard by staff members in the nursing facility. Call (888) 424-5757 for a free consultation concerning the nursing home abuse claim.