Los Angeles Nursing Home Fall Lawyer
If your loved one has suffered a fall in a Los Angeles nursing home, you deserve answers about what happened. Call 888-887-9777 for a free consultation with Lanzone Morgan, LLP.
We have extensive experience suing the following facilities: Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Facilities, Memory Care Facilities, Adult Day Care Centers, and more.
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Falls can cause life-changing injuries for vulnerable nursing home residents. In the aftermath of a fall, the resident’s family members are often left wondering whether the facility did enough to keep their loved one safe. When the circumstances are unclear, a closer look at the resident’s history, care plan, and living environment may reveal whether preventable care failures contributed to the incident. Our Los Angeles nursing home fall lawyers have earned a reputation for standing up to negligent care facilities. Let us pursue accountability and justice for your family.
Table of Contents:
- A Fall Investigation Should Consider More Than the Facility’s Incident Report
- How Lanzone Morgan, LLP, Investigates Suspected Nursing Home Fall Neglect
- When a Nursing Home Should Have Recognized a Resident’s Risk of Falling
- Falls That Happen During Transfers, Toileting, or Other Routine Care
- Serious Consequences Can Continue Long After the Initial Fall
- California Law and Potential Claims After Nursing Home Fall Neglect
- Questions Families Should Ask When a Los Angeles Nursing Home Reports a Fall
- Speak With Lanzone Morgan, LLP, About a Nursing Home Fall
A Fall Investigation Should Consider More Than the Facility's Incident Report
Not all nursing home falls result from neglect, but many do. To recover compensation, you must present evidence showing that the injury resulted from a preventable care failure. The facility’s incident report may be part of that picture, but it often leaves out important details about the circumstances surrounding the fall.
A comprehensive investigation involves looking closely at the care your loved one was supposed to receive and what actually happened before they fell. This may include examining whether the care plan and staff members’ actions were appropriate for your loved one’s health, mobility, cognitive status, and fall history.
How Lanzone Morgan, LLP, Investigates Suspected Nursing Home Fall Neglect
Nursing homes often explain falls as unavoidable accidents, but the evidence may tell a different story. When you turn to our lawyers, we’ll investigate the circumstances leading up to the fall and determine whether the facility’s failure to provide appropriate assistance or supervision contributed to your loved one’s injuries.
With over $250 million recovered in settlements and verdicts, we’ve dedicated our careers to fighting for nursing home abuse victims and their families. That singular focus means we know how to recognize patterns that may indicate neglect and support a claim.
Our nursing home fall attorneys in Los Angeles can obtain and review care plans, medical records, staffing information, surveillance footage, witness statements, and other evidence surrounding the incident. This evidence may reveal inconsistencies between what the facility says happened and what your loved one’s care history shows.
When a Nursing Home Should Have Recognized a Resident's Risk of Falling
Long-term care facilities in Los Angeles are responsible for assessing residents’ fall risk when they first enter the facility and developing a care plan that accounts for that risk. The resident’s mobility, cognitive status, medical conditions, and fall history can all influence the level of assistance they need to prevent falls during their stay.
Those needs can change quickly, so facilities must also continue monitoring a resident’s risk of falling over time. New weakness or balance problems, worsening confusion, medication changes, or another fall can signal that existing precautions are no longer enough. When those signs arise, staff may need to reassess the resident and update the care plan accordingly.
Not every fall means the facility failed to take appropriate precautions. But if the staff knew or should have known that a resident faced a higher risk and did not adjust their care accordingly, that may have contributed to a preventable fall.
Get started on your path to justice with Lanzone Morgan, LLP. With 75+ years of experience, we have a proven track record of holding nursing homes accountable.
Falls That Happen During Transfers, Toileting, or Other Routine Care
Getting out of bed, transferring into a wheelchair, using the bathroom, or showering can be dangerous when a resident has limited mobility. As a result, many nursing home residents depend on staff around the clock to safely complete these tasks.
Lapses in care can contribute to preventable falls during transfers or other routine activities. For example, a resident may lose their balance if one caregiver attempts a transfer that requires two people. In another scenario, a resident may call for help multiple times, then fall after attempting to reach the bathroom when no one responds.
In these situations, the timing of the fall, the facility’s staffing levels, and the resident’s documented care needs can help our elder abuse lawyers in Los Angeles determine whether appropriate assistance could have prevented the incident.
Serious Consequences Can Continue Long After the Initial Fall
A nursing home fall can mark the beginning of a lasting decline in an aging resident’s condition. A hip fracture, spinal injury, or soft tissue damage may require surgery that carries a risk of complications, which can be especially dangerous for residents who already have significant health challenges. During hospitalization or the rehabilitation period, a resident’s limited mobility can lead to muscle loss that may worsen preexisting mobility issues. Some residents never fully regain their previous level of functioning, and their reduced strength can leave them with a higher risk of developing additional health problems.
Fall-related head injuries can also have serious consequences for vulnerable seniors. A traumatic brain injury may exacerbate confusion, memory problems, or other cognitive limitations. These changes can make it harder for residents with existing dementia to live independently while adding new care needs for residents who previously required minimal cognitive support.
California Law and Potential Claims After Nursing Home Fall Neglect
Your family’s right to take legal action depends on whether the facility’s conduct rose to the level of negligence. California’s Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act defines neglect as a caregiver’s failure to provide the level of care a reasonable person in the same position would provide. Under this law, a caregiver must protect residents from safety hazards. If a staff member’s lapse in care causes your loved one to be harmed by a fall, the nursing home may be held liable.
This area of California law also provides enhanced remedies when neglect involves recklessness, oppression, fraud, or malice. If your family’s case meets the standard of proof, you or your loved one may recover reasonable attorney’s fees and other costs associated with pursuing legal action. If the resident passes away, enhanced damages may be available for their pain and suffering.
Questions Families Should Ask When a Los Angeles Nursing Home Reports a Fall
When you learn that your loved one has fallen in a Los Angeles nursing home and suffered an injury, ask the following questions to discover what happened beyond the facility’s initial explanation:
- When and where did the fall occur?
- What was my loved one doing immediately before they fell?
- Who was present when the fall occurred, and what was their role in the incident?
- Was my loved one supposed to have assistance or supervision at the time of the fall?
- How did staff respond when my loved one fell?
- Will the facility change my loved one’s care plan after this incident?
Pay attention if staff cannot answer basic questions or provide conflicting accounts. Explanations that are unnecessarily vague or don’t fit what you know about your loved one can also raise red flags. If you suspect the fall has resulted from neglect, trust your gut and speak with a Los Angeles nursing home abuse lawyer for further guidance.
Speak With Lanzone Morgan, LLP About a Nursing Home Fall
If you suspect that neglect in a Los Angeles nursing home contributed to your loved one’s fall, our attorneys can help you seek the answers and accountability your family deserves. We’ll look beyond the facility’s version of events and identify whether failures in supervision or assistance caused preventable harm. If the evidence supports a nursing home neglect claim, we’ll pursue full compensation from the responsible parties while you focus on your family.
Our Los Angeles nursing home fall lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, so working with our team costs nothing up front. We only get paid if we recover compensation for you. Call 888-887-9777 or contact us online for a free consultation.
Written and edited by our team of expert legal content writers and reviewed and approved by attorney Anthony C. Lanzone.
- Nursing Home Infections
- Falls & Fractures
- Unexplained Broken Bones
- Bedsores/Pressure Sores
- Sepsis
- Medication Errors/Overmedication
- Unauthorized Use of Restraints
- Wheelchair Transfer Injuries
- Elderly Wandering & Elopement
- Elderly Sexual Assault & Abuse
- Dehydration & Malnutrition
- Poor Hygiene
- Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)
- Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
- Amputation
- Choking Deaths
- Wrongful Death
- Financial Elder Abuse
- Nursing Homes
- Assisted Living Facilities
- Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly, or RCFE
- Memory Care Facilities
- Skilled Nursing Facilities
- Adult Day Care Centers
- Continuing Care Retirement Communities
- Non-Emergency Transport Providers
- Acute Care Hospitals