While many adults suffer from bone fractures due to osteoporosis, other elderly individuals living in nursing homes oftentimes suffer bone breaks as a result of nursing home negligence. Although nursing homes are the places many families entrust the care of their elderly loved ones to, some of these facilities are also the location of nursing home abuse and neglect.

Because it might be hard to determine what nursing home abuse and neglect looks like, we have provided you with some common causes and examples of how bone fractures can occur in nursing homes, such as:

  • Falls. When a nursing home doesn’t use lifts correctly or supervise residents that need assistance, nursing home residents may fall and suffer bone breaks.
  • Bad equipment. When residents are made to use faulty walkers, poor wheelchairs, or beds without rails, they may suffer broken bones. Unfortunately, failing to provide nursing home residents with safe equipment often leads to falls and injuries.
  • Lack of handrails. Nursing homes should have handrails by toilets, showers, and in staircases for nursing home residents. When facilities don’t have the adequate safety devices installed, nursing home residents may suffer bone fractures from falling.
  • Understaffed facilities. Nursing homes are notorious for wanting to save money, which is why they cut back on staffing levels. When there aren’t enough workers to help patients or properly supervise them, falls and broken bones can occur.
  • Overmedication. Sometimes nursing home workers give too much medication to nursing home residents to subdue patients—reducing their cries for help. When this occurs, patients will suffer from balance and coordination issues and often bone fractures from falls.

Although bone fractures are seen as a part of aging, nursing homes may be liable for not providing proper safety equipment, supervision, or adequate care to their residents. While many bone fracture injuries are the result of neglect—some are caused from intentional abuse. In either event, nursing homes need to be held accountable for their poor actions. To learn more about taking action against a nursing home, request a free copy of our book, The Florida Nursing Home Abuse Handbook.

Damian Mallard, Esq.
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Board Certified Sarasota Personal Injury Attorney
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