Breaking a hip is a severe injury for anyone, regardless of age, but when you are elderly, a broken hip is more likely to be debilitating and could even lead to death. Unfortunately, broken and fractured hips are not uncommon in New York nursing homes, and many of these injuries are preventable.
Negligent assisted living facilities have caused countless residents under their care to suffer serious injuries, including broken hips. If you have a loved one living in a New York long-term care facility whom you suspect has broken their hip because of neglect, abuse, or otherwise careless behavior, discuss your situation with a Dalli & Marino, LLP broken hip attorney.
What Could Cause a New York Nursing Home Resident to Break a Hip?
Sadly, broken or fractured hips are relatively common in assisted living facilities. There are about 1 million long-stay nursing home residents nationwide, and about 23,000 of them suffer a hip fracture each year.
The mortality rate among nursing home residents who break their hip is unfortunately high. Studies have shown that one in three nursing home residents who break a hip die within 180 days, and one in every two male residents will die within the same time period.
Long-term care facility residents typically break a hip in one of three ways:
- The resident falls on their own
- The resident is dropped by nurses or facility staff
- The hip fractures because of osteoporosis or brittle bones
Hips do not break themselves, and many fractured hips in patients over the age of 65 are due to falls or dropping incidents rather than the natural aging process.
How Can New York Nursing Homes Prevent Residents from Suffering a Fractured Hip?
Broken hips are often life-changing incidents to residents of nursing homes, so these facilities must do everything they can to minimize hip fractures and fall injuries. Nursing homes in New York are legally obligated to implement safety measures for fall risk residents to prevent severe injuries like broken hips, such as:
- Putting in floor mats to cushion a fall from a bed or wheelchair
- Installing bed alarms to alert staff when a resident gets out of bed
- Fitting bed rails to prevent residents from getting out of bed
- Offering call bells within reach so residents can easily alert staff when they need assistance
- Ensuring walkways and floors are free of clutter and spills
- Providing residents with non-slip, non-skid grip socks
- Supplying hipsters to cushion falls and prevent hip fractures
- Supervising residents to prevent unassisted ambulation
- Maintaining a restroom schedule to keep residents comfortable and prevent attempts to use the bathroom without assistance
When family members find out that their loved one in a nursing home has suffered a hip fracture, they will inevitably ask how it happened. If the care facility was even partially at fault, rarely will they admit their own wrongdoing to the family. Instead, they will tell partial truths or feed them a story about their loved one having brittle bones or something else that they think will shift the blame off themselves. It is imperative that family members conduct an investigation as to whether a loved one’s fall could have been prevented by nursing home staff.
Should You File a Claim for a Hip Fractured in a New York Assisted Living Facility?
Following surgery for a hip fracture, elderly nursing home residents face a lengthy recovery period. Recovery usually includes 2-7 days post-op in the hospital and then discharge to a skilled nursing facility for further rehabilitation. Patients healing a broken hip often undergo painful in-house and out-patient physical therapy treatments. Hip surgery and subsequent rehabilitation typically cost patients over $50,000 in medical bills. This figure does not even account for the patient’s most significant damage: their pain and suffering.
Severe injuries like hip fractures are not supposed to occur in nursing homes, especially since a broken hip can be a death sentence for an elderly individual. Even in a best-case scenario, a hip fracture can rob a person of their independence and ability to walk, which can exaggerate confusion, dementia, or depression.
All broken hip accidents in New York nursing homes should be reported to the state and looked into by an experienced elder abuse and neglect lawyer. If you love someone living in a New York assisted living facility, and they have suffered a broken hip, be sure to investigate the true cause of the fracture.
Contact an Attorney if Your Loved One Suffered a Broken Hip in a New York Nursing Home
Dalli & Marino, LLP broken hip lawyers have successfully handled thousands of claims on behalf of victims and their families. If your loved one has suffered a broken hip in a New York nursing home due to a fall, being dropped, a physical assault, or an unreported trauma, allow our lawyers to investigate the matter.
At Dalli & Marino, LLP, we charge no up-front fees, and we only get paid if we recover compensation for you. Call us today at (888) 465-8790 or complete our contact form to schedule your free consultation with a Dalli & Marino, LLP broken hip attorney. We also speak Spanish.
