Lanzone Morgan, LLP, recently obtained a nursing home fall injury settlement for the family of an elderly woman who suffered fatal injuries at a Los Angeles County facility. Within just two days of what was supposed to be a brief stay at the nursing home, the woman suffered multiple falls that caused painful fractures. She died six days later.
The facility’s staff knew the woman had a heightened risk of falls, but still left her unsupervised. Her family turned to Lanzone Morgan, LLP, to hold the facility accountable for the failures that led to her death. Our nursing home neglect attorneys recovered substantial compensation for their losses.
Our Client Trusted the Nursing Home Facility With Their Loved One’s Care
The case involved a woman with dementia who had been living at home with her son’s around-the-clock support. She also suffered from atrial fibrillation and partial blindness. The woman required a wheelchair and needed significant assistance with her daily care needs.
Eventually, her son arranged a five-day stay at a nursing home in Los Angeles County. The goal was to provide her with short-term professional care and give her son temporary relief from his caregiving duties before she returned home.
Like many families who arrange nursing home care for a loved one, this woman’s son trusted the facility to keep her safe. He reasonably expected staff to provide active supervision, physical assistance, and timely responses to her needs. Within days of her admission, that trust was irrevocably broken.
Repeated Care Failures Led To Fatal Nursing Home Fall Injuries
When the woman was admitted to the nursing home on February 20, 2025, staff immediately identified her as being at risk for falls. Despite this, the facility left her alone in her wheelchair while she was waiting to be assessed. She tried to stand and fell.
The next day, the facility performed a formal fall risk evaluation and devised a care plan to address her needs. Staff noted that she’d repeatedly attempt to get out of bed or her wheelchair and could fall if left unattended. The plans required staff to monitor her closely to minimize this risk.
However, on February 22, staff members left the woman alone in her wheelchair in the hallway. They later found her lying face down on the floor, bruised and bleeding. She was taken to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with a comminuted fracture of the nasal bones and a comminuted fracture of the distal radius, a forearm bone near the wrist. A comminuted fracture is one in which the bone is broken in at least two places.
The hospital treated her injuries and discharged her to her home for hospice care. She suffered severe pain as her condition deteriorated until her death on February 28, 2025.
“Oftentimes, the nursing home can be very vague about the facts of the fall. I would be persistent and ask everybody I could about the circumstances of the fall. If you're not getting straight answers, then I want to investigate because something fishy is going on. Also, if there's a fall in a nursing home, I want to know, was it witnessed? Did somebody see the fall? Because a lot of times, I'll get a report that the nurse walked by the room and saw the elder on the floor. Maybe the nurses didn't witness the fall, but the roommates or the roommate's family witnessed the fall. And a lot of times I'll get a report from the roommates or the family of the roommates that the elder fell, and they were on the floor for 10 minutes or 20 minutes before anybody came.”
Get Trusted Help After a Nursing Home Fall
This was a clear case of neglect. The woman’s short stay at a nursing home quickly turned fatal because staff members failed to manage her fall risk properly. This type of breakdown in care happens all too often in California nursing home facilities, leaving families searching for answers and accountability.
If your loved one was seriously injured or died after falling in a care facility, you may have the right to pursue a nursing home fall injury settlement. Our nursing home abuse attorneys represent families in Los Angeles as well as the entire state of California. Let us put our track record to work for you.
Call 888-887-9777 or contact us online for a free consultation about your rights and options.
The following content has been legally reviewed and approved by nursing home abuse attorney Anthony Lanzone. Anthony holds notable memberships with professional organizations including the American Association for Justice and Consumer Attorneys of California.