94-Year-Old Resident’s Face Covered in Bruises After Fall at Oklahoma Nursing Home

A 94-year-old resident of the Ranchwood Nursing Center in Yukon, Oklahoma, has a broken hand, purple bruises all over her face and one eye swollen shut after a recent fall. Family members say there is a chance their loved one could lose the eye that is swollen shut.

The victim’s grandson is not sure how the fall occurred. He thinks his grandmother may have been trying to get out of bed or into a wheelchair when the wheels were not locked and it rolled out from under her.

The 94-year-old has fallen a few times before and the family has been pushing for the facility to install railings on her bed and other safeguards to try to prevent it. Unfortunately, the facility has refused to take these steps, according to the victim’s grandson.

If your loved one was injured in a fall at a nursing home and you believe it was caused by elder abuse or neglect, contact a nursing home abuse lawyer at PKSD for a free legal consultation. We may be able to hold negligent parties accountable and pursue compensation.

Other Problems at Ranchwood Nursing Center

The 94-year-old’s fall is just one of many problems at this Oklahoma nursing facility. An August inspection uncovered 19 health deficiencies, according to Medicare records. This figure is more than double the national average (7.2) of health deficiencies found in an inspection.

Some of the health deficiencies identified in the inspection include failing to:

• Provide timely care for incontinence
• Ensure residents with incontinence were cleaned promptly
• Provide enough staff to meet residents’ needs

The 94-year-old’s grandson says that there are times when he has gone to check on her and discovered that no one at the facility has changed her for most of the day and her wheelchair is soaked.

Unfortunately, these forms of elder abuse are common throughout the nation, including in Oklahoma.

Statistics on Falls by the Elderly

The elderly (people who are 65 years old or older) are at high risk for falling whether they are at a nursing home or not. Each year, approximately 2.8 million elderly people receive treatment in an emergency room for fall injuries, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

One of five falls causes a severe injury, like broken bones or a head injury. Common places where bones are broken include the wrists, arms, ankles or hips. More than 95 percent of broken hips are caused by falls.

Falls can also result in death, particularly when the victim is over 65 years of age. In fact, falls are the leading cause of deaths from injury among older Americans.

Preventing Falls Among the Elderly

One of the most significant steps nursing homes can take to reduce residents’ risk of falling is to implement a fall prevention program. The goal of a fall prevention program is to help the facility identify residents who are at risk for falls and take practical steps to help reduce the risk of a fall.

If an elderly individual answers yes to any of the following statements from the CDC, he or she has a high risk of falling:

Some of the practical steps facilities can take to help reduce the risk of a fall include:

Contact a Nursing Home Neglect Attorney

If your loved one fell at a nursing home, it may have been caused by nursing home negligence. This means you could be entitled to compensation for medical expenses and other damages suffered by your loved one.

Contact the nursing home abuse attorneys at PKSD for a free legal consultation to discover your legal options. We do not charge for our services unless we recover fair compensation.

Call  414-333-3333 or fill out a Free Case Evaluation form right now.