Daytona Beach, FL (Daytona Injury News) — Falls and fall-related injuries are common liability concerns in hospitals and nursing homes. Since 1987 with the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) and guidelines from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the use of restraints has been decreased. Restraints have been found to injure and promote falls in some patients. Since directed by OBRA in 1990 there has been a reduction and elimination of the use of physical and chemical restraints.

So what happens when you, or a loved one, fall in a hospital or nursing home and sustain a fracture or other serious injury? It depends on whether or not the nursing staff has adequately assessed the risk of fall and implemented reasonable alternatives to restraints to prevent falls. Did the nursing staff follow their safety protocols, including frequent monitoring of patients at high risk for falling? There are a host of interventions available to nurses to reduce the risk of falls with injuries. Only with a review of the medical records can one determine whether or not reasonable actions were carried out.

Although some falls are not preventable or foreseeable, often times falls involve an environmental element such as wet floors or cracks in the walkway. These falls are generally pursued as premises liability cases and not medical malpractice, even though they may occur in or at a hospital.

Because of the numerous considerations surrounding falls, it is to your advantage to contact an experienced medical malpractice or personal injury attorney for an evaluation of your claim. Rue & Ziffra - Daytona Beach personal injury attorneys can help you determine the nature of your claim.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 5:08 am and is filed under General Injury News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.