This article discusses the most common types of personal injuries suffered by the elderly from nursing home neglect and malpractice.

The elderly are some of the most vulnerable in our population, especially when care for them is taken over by nursing homes and non-family members. When the ones we love suffer personal injuries from nursing home neglect and malpractice it is imperative that we not only obtain relief for our elders, but we hold the wrongdoers responsible.

If you’ve visited your loved one in a nursing home and noticed bruises, headaches, pain, or other injuries, your loved one may have suffered from nursing home neglect.

Some of the most common personal injuries include:

1. Bedsores

Bedsores are lesions on the skin most commonly on the back, buttocks, thighs or feet. Good nursing home aides will treat the bedsores before infection occurs. There are many preventative actions nurses can use to stop patients from getting bedsores and if they do get bedsores many treatments they can use to make sure they heal quickly. If they do not treat them, they can result in a fatality.

2. Falls

Falls are one of the scariest and most worrisome type of accidents for the elderly. A fall could mean that the patient breaks a bone, opens a wound, hurts their head or suffers other types of injuries. The medical staff at the nursing home should take proper measures to ensure patient safety. They should have guidelines for helping patients get out of bed and walk to restrooms or other areas. Additionally, if a fall does occur and the nursing home staff neglect to file a report and do proper medical follow up, the patient could suffer worse injuries that may result in a fatality.

3. Facility Hazards

Many elderly patients already suffer from weakness and difficulty with mobility. Add in medications that treat other medical problems and patients are at extremely high risks for accidents. Many nursing home facilities do not adequately remove hazards from their rooms and hallways, thus increasing the risk of an accident. Nursing homes should take the time to safety proof the entire facility and increase the staff so that any patient who is at risk of an accident an be monitored more closely.

These injuries may be due to nursing home neglect, lack of proper attention, or being understaffed. Nursing homes can also prevent many injuries by properly each patient’s probability of risk and using measures to prevent those risks.