Proving a slip-and-fall case in a nursing home

Leaving a loved one in a nursing home is hard enough, but realizing that there was danger you didn’t know about is devastating. When you place a loved one in nursing care, you expect him or her to receive care and to be monitored for safety. You don’t expect to find out that your loved one has fallen or slipped in the facility because of neglect or other problems.

Nursing home cases aren’t always easy to go through with, because you’ll have to prove that an incident happened in the way you understand it. Unless you’re there at the time of an accident, have many witnesses, receive an admission from the nursing home or have video of an accident, it could be hard to show that your claims are valid. Residents may be scared to report an incident because of the potential for retaliation, which is something no one should have to live with.

To prove a slip-and-fall case, you’ll have to show that the owner of the facility was negligent in some way. For example, if it is icy or wet outside and a resident manages to walk outside, slip and fall without the staff realizing he or she left the premises, then that could be a sign of negligence and poor monitoring.

Nursing homes also have to maintain a safe premises, so if a floor is wet or slick, there should be wet-floor signs. Similarly, if there is damage to flooring or a wobbly handrail, it should be repaired as soon as possible. If not, then anyone who gets hurt could file a lawsuit for negligence.

Source: FindLaw, “Nursing Home Slip and Fall: Can You Sue for Negligence?,” George Khoury, accessed June 06, 2018