Hip Fracture Lawsuit Filed Over Nursing Home Fall

The family of a 95-year old Illinois woman recently filed a nursing home lawsuit, alleging that she fell on multiple occasions as a result of the negligence of a facility where she stayed for only a few weeks.

The complaint was filed against Sterns Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Granite City, by the guardian of River Reed.

Reed suffered multiple hip fractures after she was not properly monitored and supervised on at least three occasions, despite having Alzheimers and dementia, which made her a high risk for falling.

During Reed’s short stay at the facility between May 25, 2007 and July 7, 2007, she suffered at least three nursing home falls that left her with serious and debilitating injuries.

According to the complaint, the first week she was in the nursing home, Reed was allowed to walk in the hallway unattended in the middle of the night, even though she was known to usually be disoriented and confused. As a result of the nursing home’s negligence, Reed’s guardian claims that she fell on May 29, 2007, and suffered a left hip fracture.

A week later, on June 6, Reed fell out of her wheelchair and injured herself further when the nursing home staff left her unattended and without any alarm to notify them if she attempted to get up.

Later that same month, on June 15, 2007, Reed fractured her right hip in yet another fall, which occurred while she was alone in her wheelchair with the alarm turned off.

To reduce the risk of nursing home falls and other injuries, all facilities are required to have an assessment done when a resident enters the facility. The assessment should describe the functional capacity of the resident and evaluate their risk for falling. Based on this assessment, proper steps must be taken to supervise the resident and provide safety devices to prevent a fall injury.

The nursing home hip fracture lawsuit was filed in Madison County Circuit Court in Illinois.