January 27, 2020 Slip, Trip, or Fall Chris Stolmeier

San Antonio Slip and Fall Lawyers

Nursing Home Slip and Fall

Nursing homes are a place we trust to take care of our family, our friends, and us. However, our loved ones can suffer a serious nursing home Slip and Fall because a nursing home was negligent in their care. Between 50% and 75% of nursing facility residents fall each year. About 1,800 individuals living in nursing facilities die from falls in any given year. Stolmeier Law values you and your loved ones. We will personally represent you, unlike many large personal injury firms, to make sure you are taken care of. 

How a Nursing Home Slip and Fall Can Occur

Unfortunately, nursing home Slip and Falls are a common occurrence that can lead to devastating injuries or death for the victims. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 3 million older Americans are treated in emergency departments for fall injuries. Additionally, the CDC reports that fall death rates in America increased 30% from 2007 to 2016 for older adults. Theses are some of the common causes of nursing home Slip and Falls:

• Unreasonably Safe Nursing Home Premises

Nursing home owners, doctors, nurses, employees, and other staff are expected to keep the nursing home premises reasonably safe from hazards. Unreasonably dangerous nursing home premises hazards can include:

• • • Poor lighting.
    • Cluttered hallways, resident rooms, recreation areas, cafeteria areas, etc.
    • Slippery surfaces from spills, freshly mopped floors, floor polish or wax, food debris.
    • Uneven surfaces such as steps or floor level changes that are not clearly marked.
    • Defective mats.
    • Defective carpeting.
    • Weather related dangers such as a rain or snow that can be tracked in.
    • Sidewalks and parking lots on the nursing home premises that are not properly maintained.
• Negligent Hiring

A nursing home is responsible for every staff member it hires. A nursing home can be held liable for negligently hiring an employee who causes injury to another person. Negligent hiring can occur when a nursing home hires an employee it knows or reasonably should know has a propensity to act in a manner that would cause injury to another person. 

Proving Nursing Home Negligent Hiring:

• The person who caused the injury was an employee of the nursing home;
• The nursing home knew or should have known of the employee’s propensity to cause injury; and
• The nursing home did not exercise reasonable care in hiring the employee.

A nursing home can fail to exercise reasonable care in hiring an employee by:

• Failing to conduct a proper background check.
• Failing to check personal references.
• Failing to confirm employment history.
• Failing to perform drug screenings.
• Failing to confirm reasons for prior employment termination.

Negligent Supervision

Negligent supervision occurs when someone who has a legal responsibility to supervise another person fails to do so in a reasonable manner. It is particularly important for nursing home staff to responsibly supervise nursing home residents who are at high risk of suffering a nursing home Slip and Fall. Nursing home residents who are at a high risk of suffering a nursing home Slip and Fall include:

• Residents who have a history of falls.
• Residents who have mobility problems or use assistive devices.
• Residents who are on high risk medications, such as pain killers, sedatives, orthostatic blood pressure medications, etc.
• Residents with visual impairment.
• Residents suffering from mental impairment.
• Patients whose movement is restricted by medical equipment.

Proving Your Nursing Home Slip and Fall

A nursing home Slip and Fall injury victim will need to prove the nursing home or its staff acted negligently in causing an unreasonably dangerous condition, which lead to your injuries. To prove the nursing home acted negligently you must show the nursing home owed a duty of care to you, the nursing home breached that duty of care, the breach caused you injury, and the injury resulted in damages.

• The nursing home or its staff owed a DUTY of care to you.

Nursing home residents are invitees. An invitee is person who is invited onto the property owner’s land as a member of the public or a person who enters the property owner’s land for the purpose of conducting business with the property owner. As an invitee, the nursing home and its staff owe you the highest degree of care.

•  The nursing home or its staff BREACHED their duty of care to you.

You next have to prove the nursing home or its staff breached their duty of care to you. A nursing home or its staff’s knowledge and acts are determined on a reasonable person standard. Black’s Law Dictionary defines a reasonable person as an ordinary person who exercises care while avoiding extremes of boldness and carefulness. The reasonable person standard is viewed on how an ordinary person would act under similar circumstances.

A nursing home or its staff must reasonably act to keep the property safe from dangerous hazards. A property owner can breach his or her duty to you when:

• The nursing home or its staff caused the dangerous hazard; or
• The nursing home or its staff knew of the dangerous hazard and did not remedy it; or
• The nursing home or its staff should have reasonably known of the dangerous hazard and did not remedy it.

To determine whether a property owner or employee kept the property reasonably safe, consider the following:

• Was the dangerous hazard present for a long enough period of time that the nursing home or its staff should have known about it?
• Was the dangerous hazard in a location regularly checked or cleaned by the nursing home or its staff?
• Was the dangerous hazard in a location that the nursing home or its staff should expect, such as the entry or exit, or the produce aisle of a market?
• Were there mats or warning signs located in the area of the dangerous hazard?
• Could the object have been removed or made safe without unreasonable expense by the nursing home or its staff?
• Did inadequate lighting contribute to your Slip, Trip, or Fall?

•  The nursing home’s breach caused your INJURIES.

The nursing home’s breach of care must have proximately caused your injuries.

• The injuries resulted in DAMAGES.

The injuries must have resulted in damages.

Stolmeier Law’s tips about what to do if you’ve experienced a Slip and Fall may help you once a nursing home or its staff breaches its duty to you.

Nursing Home Slip and Fall Injuries

According to the CDC, 800,000 older Americans a year are hospitalized because of a fall injury, most often because of a head injury or hip fracture. Each year at least 300,000 older people are hospitalized for hip fractures. Additionally, the CDC reports falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Nursing home Slip and Fall injuries can include:

• Cuts.
• Bruises.
• Sprains.
• Ligament damage.
• Broken bones, including knees, wrists, arms, ribs, hips, back, etc.
• Neck injuries.
• Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI).
• Death.

Types of Nursing Home Slip and Fall Injury Damages

In order to recover damages from your nursing home Slip and Fall, you must prove your injuries resulted in economic damages. Economic damages are damages that can be given an accurate monetary worth.  Economic damages can include:

• Medical bills.

Your medical bills for past and future medical treatment including surgeries, pain management, physical therapy, prescriptions, doctor’s visits, medical assistance devices, etc. related to your Slip and Fall is one of the most certain ways to determine your damages. You should provide your attorney any documentation regarding medical bills or medical services you have received or will receive as a result of your personal injuries. Often, your attorney will want you to provide consent for medical document recovery. This will allow your attorney to request documentation from your medical provider(s) on your behalf.

• Lost wages.
• Lost earning capacity.

Non-economic damages can also be recovered from nursing home Slip and Fall injuries. Non-economic damages are damages that are more difficult to accurately determine a monetary value for. Non-economic damages include:

• Pain and suffering.

Pain and suffering are the most uncertain damages awarded in a Slip and Fall case. These damages include any past and future pain and suffering you have or will experience because of your Slip and Fall. Often, your medical bills will be used to determine your pain and suffering damages. Any past or future physical, mental, or emotional limitations may be consider when calculating your pain and suffering damages.

• Loss of enjoyment.

Loss of enjoyment damages arise when your injuries prevent you from enjoying your hobbies, parental enjoyment, or day-to-day enjoyment. These damages may be difficult to determine because it is not certain how to value a person’s enjoyment.

• Loss of consortium.

Loss of consortium damages usually involve the impact the injuries have on the victim’s relationship with his or her spouse, such as the loss of companionship or the inability to maintain a sexual relationship.

Contact Stolmeier Law, San Antonio Slip and Fall Lawyers

We are San Antonio Slip and Fall lawyers. Stolmeier Law has served Slip and  Fall victims in San Antonio and South Texas for over 35 years. We ensure you we will personally represent you in your Slip and and Fall case. Your priorities are of our utmost concern and Stolmeier Law will help you receive the most compensation possible for your Slip and Fall injuries. So if you or a loved one has suffered serious injuries in a Slip and Fall, contact Stolmeier Law, San Antonio Slip and Fall lawyers. Slip, Trip, or Fall? Call Stolmeier Law.