Can my Great Aunt Sue Her Nursing Home After Breaking Her Arm in a Trip-and-Fall Accident?

In general, yes. Liability on the part of a Maryland elder care facility for injuries sustained by a patient or resident could result in some amount of compensation, though the circumstances surrounding the injury will usually dictate the extent of the nursing home’s responsibility, as well as any monetary recovery on the part of the victim.

Falls of various kinds are one of the more common occurrences in most every Maryland skilled nursing facility. In fact, the typical elder care facility will have an average — on a per-bed basis — of one or two falls per year; and those are the instances actually reported; many additional trip- or slip-and-fall accidents typically take place throughout the year without ever being officially recorded. Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has determined that 50- to 75-percent of all nursing home residents will experience some kind of slip-and-fall event in any given year.

Without knowing the specific circumstances of your aunt’s injury accident, it is difficult to know what the possible legal outcome would be. However, if her injuries were caused by a piece of faulty flooring, poorly placed grab bars, or poor lighting in a hallway or stairwell, this case would likely come under the heading of nursing home neglect. As Maryland personal injury attorneys, the legal experts at Lebowitz & Mzhen, LLC, know that many eldercare abuse and neglect cases never go to trial and they are often settled out of court. Again, this all depends on the facts of the case and the extent of injuries sustained by the victim.

One of the common types of lawsuit filed against Maryland nursing homes is the “premises liability” claim. Premises (or property) liability refers to the responsibility that a property owner (in this case the nursing facility) has for maintaining the proper safety features, maintenance and upkeep of its buildings and grounds.

In general, slip-and-fall lawsuits are the most common type of property liability claims. And, due to the nature of eldercare businesses, nursing home companies and their employees can be held accountable for something as simple a slippery floor. Because elderly and physically disabled residents of an elder care facility have special needs, the scope of premises liability for Maryland nursing facilities can be somewhat more broad.

Compared to the day-to-day hazards that may be found in a typical commercial establishment frequented by younger and more able-bodied people, a poorly designed and/or inadequately maintained skilled nursing facility can itself be more likely to cause injury to the elderly or infirm individuals living within its walls. In other words, Maryland nursing homes and elder care operations typically have a greater chance of being named as a defendant in some kind of premises liability claim than the majority of other businesses throughout the state.

If you have an elderly or physically disabled loved one who has been seriously injured at a Maryland nursing facility, the attorneys at Lebowitz & Mzhen, LLC, understand how your trust has been shaken by the mere possibility of negligence on the part of the nursing home or its staff. Our most vulnerable family members deserve to feel safe in the places they call home, and if that feeling of safety is met with poor nursing care, mistreatment or outright abuse, it may be time to consult a qualified personal injury lawyer.

Please don’t hesitate to contact our law offices to set up a free, no-obligation initial consultation with one of our Maryland nursing home injury lawyers. There is no reason to wonder if the law is on your side; take a moment to speak with an attorney and learn firsthand what your rights are to monetary compensation in cases of nursing home negligence.