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Broken hips are one of the many reasons elderly people come to live in nursing homes, seeking rest, care and rehabilitation for their injuries. It’s no secret that as we age, our bones weaken, we have trouble seeing and balancing, and we lose coordination—making elderly people particularly vulnerable to hip fractures. In fact, people over the age of 60 account for the majority of broken hips in our nation, according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.
Not only do seniors suffer hip injuries outside of nursing homes, but many elderly people sustain broken hips while living in nursing homes. Some of the causes of broken hips in nursing homes include:
- Nursing home neglect – When residents who need to be monitored closely aren’t, they can fall and suffer broken hips.
- Nursing home abuse – Sometimes nursing home staff members are violent and push or hit residents, causing them to fall and suffer hip injuries.
- Fall injuries – If nursing home workers don’t use a hoyer lift correctly when transferring patients from their beds into wheelchairs, they can drop residents on the floor and cause hip fractures.
- Malnutrition – When a nursing home doesn’t provide residents with the proper nutrition, their patients are more prone to suffering broken bones in a fall.
- Overmedicating residents – When nursing home staff workers overmedicate residents, those patients are more likely to fall and suffer injuries like a broken hip.
When nursing homes fail to properly care for their residents or intentionally neglect and abuse residents, they can be liable for injury claims. This is because Florida nursing homes are supposed to provide a safe environment, proper care, and attend to residents needs. When they fail to do so, it is considered nursing home negligence.
Sadly, broken hips can be a life-threatening injury for elderly people due to complications. Unfortunately, many nursing home residents with broken hips never recover because their health starts rapidly declining. If your loved one suffered a broken hip in a nursing home, we encourage you to order a free copy of our book, The Florida Nursing Home Abuse Handbook: Ways to Recognize and Prevent Abuse and Neglect.
