Our nursing home injury attorneys at Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C. handle cases involving dropped patients and fall injuries and deaths in hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities. Resident falls and dropped patients in Michigan nursing homes are common because people in nursing homes are generally older, have more chronic conditions, and have difficulty walking compared to other older adults living in the community. Additionally, nursing home residents also tend to have problems with thinking or memory, or have difficulty with the tasks of daily life causing the percentage of nursing home falls to be large. A resident who is injured from a fall or is dropped does have have legal rights under Michigan laws.
The number of falls for elderly people in Michigan nursing homes is significant and the injuries from those accidents are often severe and can sometimes cause wrongful deaths. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), each year, about 1,800 elderly people living in a nursing home die from fall-related injuries. Other statistics include:
Dropped patients in Michigan nursing homes occur with unfortunate frequency and often cause significant injury and harm to the patient or resident. These drops often occur when patients are being transferred from a bed to a wheelchair, from a wheelchair to a bed, or to and from a toilet.
The injuries from these falls and drops are serious and even catastrophic. They include:
Individuals who suffer injuries as a result of a fall in a Michigan nursing home or being dropped do have legal rights. Many of times, the fall is caused due to the negligent care of the nurse or caregiver, not enough supervision, or environmental hazards such as incorrect bed height. If the resident falls due to those circumstances or any other negligent act from a nurse or caretaker, it can give rise to a nursing home abuse lawsuit.
Our experienced attorneys represent residents and their families in lawsuits involving dropped patients and fall injuries. These lawsuits seek compensation for the resident and the family for the injuries suffered. They also serve to prevent such a tragedy from happening to another resident in the future. When a resident dies due to a fall or being dropped, we file a Wrongful Death lawsuit on behalf of the surviving family members.
The person, or most typically a concerned family member, should contact the experienced Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C. nursing home injury lawyer immediately after a fall accident in a nursing home to investigate the cause of the accident. These injuries are often not well-documented and it is necessary to do a full investigation, especially because the person does not always have the ability to remember or describe the incident. An injured person may be entitled to monetary compensation for the injuries in a fall if the fall took place in a nursing home and the facility failed to take proper preventive fall measures. Call our office now. We have a top track record of obtaining sizeable settlements and verdicts in nursing home neglect cases and we can do the same for you. We will represent you under our No Fee Promise, which means there are no legal fees or costs until you win a settlement.
Please contact us today for answers to more complex questions or questions specific to your case. The initial consultation is FREE.