Wheelchair Transfer Injuries in Nursing Homes

Anthony C. Lanzone, Founding Partner

KEY TAKEAWAY

Residents often suffer injuries in nursing homes during wheelchair transfers because staff members fail to follow proper safety procedures. If your loved one has suffered a wheelchair transfer injury in a California nursing home, an experienced nursing home abuse attorney can help you seek substantial compensation and hold the facility accountable.

Table of Contents:

Common Types of Wheelchair Transfer Injuries
What Causes Injuries in Nursing Homes During Wheelchair Transfers?
Wheelchair Transfer Injuries Are Often Preventable
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Wheelchair Transfer Injury?
What To Do After a Wheelchair Transfer Injury
Let Us Help You Pursue Fair Compensation After a Wheelchair-Related Injury

Common Types of Wheelchair Transfer Injuries

Since many nursing home residents have mobility impairments, nursing homes must implement and follow proper wheelchair transfer protocols to ensure residents’ safety. However, injuries during wheelchair transfers are unfortunately common in nursing home facilities. One study found that nearly 4,000 adults aged 65 and older visited U.S. emergency departments each year due to injuries sustained during wheelchair transfers.

Common transfer-related nursing home injuries include the following:

Hip, arm, or leg fractures
Traumatic brain injuries, such as brain bleeds and concussions
Back injuries, such as fractured vertebrae, herniated discs, or spinal cord trauma
Joint dislocations
Facial injuries, such as broken noses or dental trauma
Cuts and bruises

While such injuries may be treatable in younger people, something like a broken bone can have catastrophic consequences for elderly residents. For older adults, the physical stress from a major fall-related fracture can significantly impact their quality of life and life expectancy.

What Causes Injuries in Nursing Homes During Wheelchair Transfers?

Many nursing home residents depend entirely on caregivers to help them move safely between a wheelchair and other surfaces. Wheelchair transfer injuries can occur when nursing home staff fail to provide the level of care residents require in these situations. For example, staff may drop a resident while moving them between a bed and a wheelchair, helping them onto a toilet, or transferring them into the bathtub.

Understaffing

Understaffing in nursing homes plays a major role in many of these incidents. Experts recommend that a single caregiver should not lift more than 66 pounds without assistance. This limit often comes into play when residents require full support because they cannot transfer independently.

Thus, many residents require two or more caregivers to complete a safe transfer. When not enough staff members are available, a single employee may attempt the transfer alone, increasing the likelihood of a fall.

Hazardous Conditions and Equipment Issues

In some cases, a staff member forgets to lock the wheelchair’s brakes before beginning a transfer, allowing the chair to roll away when the resident begins shifting their weight. The movement can cause the resident to lose balance and fall out of the wheelchair. Malfunctioning wheelchair equipment, such as loose footrests or defective brakes, can also create similar hazards.

Slippery floors or cluttered walkways are also common contributing factors. Staff members may slip or trip while moving the resident and lose their grip during the transfer. Residents who can walk may also fall when they encounter these hazards.

Lack of Training and Supervision

Sometimes, facilities simply fail to properly train staff on safe wheelchair transfer techniques. Without adequate instruction, staff may use improper lifting methods or be unable to recognize when a resident requires additional assistance.

Residents may also fall when attempting their own wheelchair transfers. This risk increases when staff members fail to properly supervise residents or respond when they need assistance. High-risk residents who use wheelchairs without safety features such as seatbelts or alarms are particularly vulnerable to falls.

Wheelchair Transfer Injuries Are Often Preventable

Basic safety protocols can make a major difference in preventing wheelchair transfer injuries. When staff members receive proper training and follow established wheelchair-transfer procedures, residents are significantly less likely to suffer falls during a transfer. Adequate staffing is also essential, as caregivers need sufficient time and assistance to carry out these procedures safely.

Regular equipment maintenance plays an equally important role. Staff must routinely inspect wheelchairs to make sure the brakes, wheels, alarms, and other safety features function properly. If inspections reveal mechanical issues, the facility must repair or replace the wheelchair immediately.

Who Can Be Held Liable for a Wheelchair Transfer Injury?

Nursing homes have a responsibility to protect residents from preventable harm in all areas of care, including during wheelchair transfers. This responsibility includes training staff, maintaining safe equipment, and hiring enough staff members to meet residents’ needs. If the facility fails to meet this standard, and a resident suffers a preventable wheelchair-related injury as a result, the facility may be liable for the resident’s losses.

Staff members may also be liable for nursing home wheelchair accidents if they fail to follow the facility’s policies or disregard known safety procedures.

Violations of state nursing home laws can strengthen a case against a facility or its staff members. For instance, California Health & Safety Code §1599.1 requires facilities to provide and maintain a nurse’s call system within residents’ reach. If management fails to address known issues with the call system and a resident attempts a transfer without help, the resident or their family may hold the facility accountable.

What To Do After a Wheelchair Transfer Injury

If a loved one is injured during a wheelchair transfer at a nursing home, taking the right action can protect both their health and your family’s potential legal claim. Here’s what to do:

Seek medical attention. Take your loved one to a doctor as soon as possible. Even seemingly minor falls can cause serious injuries in older adults, even if they aren’t immediately obvious.

Document the scene. Take photos of your loved one’s injuries, the surrounding area, and the wheelchair. Note any details you or your loved one remembers about the incident.

Report the incident to the facility. Notify nursing home staff and request a copy of a formal incident report.

Request information about the incident. Ask staff members how the injury occurred and whether any witnesses were present. Write down any information you gather, including the names of the employees involved.
Speak with a nursing home neglect lawyer. Our experienced attorneys can review the circumstances of the injury, explain your options, and potentially help you pursue legal action.

There are also steps you should take after a filing your nursing home abuse claim. If you have questions, contact our attorneys straight away.

An improper wheelchair transfer can leave vulnerable adults facing painful injuries and serious emotional trauma. Meanwhile, family members may face increased financial burdens for their loved ones’ medical treatment and daily care needs.

When negligence causes a wheelchair transfer injury in a nursing home, the victim and their family may be entitled to compensation for their losses. Depending on the circumstances, this may include medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, and wrongful death damages.

Lanzone Morgan, LLP, is here to help you pursue the compensation and justice your family deserves. We’ve recovered over $250 million in settlements and verdicts for people affected by elder abuse and neglect in California. With more than 75 years of combined experience and a proven track record of holding facilities accountable, we’re the team you want on your side after your loved one suffers wheelchair transfer injuries in a nursing home.

Last modified: April 9, 2026

Reviewed by:

Anthony C. Lanzone

Founding Partner

This 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.

VIEW SOURCES