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Falls in nursing homes often raise concerns about whether residents receive the attentive care and proper supervision they need. Can you sue a nursing home for a fall? Families in Tucson frequently ask this, and the answer depends mainly on whether hazardous conditions or negligence contributed to the incident. These events can cause life-changing harm, from extended recovery times to permanent disability or, in the most tragic circumstances, death.
Under Arizona law, families may pursue legal remedies when a facility’s conduct or failure to act causes an injury. At Jensen Phelan Law Firm, the priority is protecting residents’ rights and ensuring that negligent facilities are held accountable.
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Many falls in long-term care facilities are preventable when proper safety protocols exist. According to the Arizona Department of Economic Security, falls can be linked to environmental hazards, inadequate supervision, improper use of assistive devices, and insufficient staff training. Residents may also face increased risks due to medical conditions like muscle weakness, vision impairments, or medication side effects.
Additional dangers include a cluttered environment, poor lighting, wet floors, and failure to provide mobility assistance. In our experience, risk rises during room transfers, bathroom use, and shift changes when staff coverage may be thinner.
A nursing home may be legally responsible for a fall if it fails to take reasonable precautions to prevent harm that could have been anticipated. Facilities are expected to evaluate each resident’s fall risk and implement safety measures suited to that individual’s needs. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality stresses the importance of reviewing these risks regularly, updating care plans with new interventions when needed, and making fall prevention part of everyday care.
Ignoring these steps can amount to negligence and form the basis for a legal claim. Liability can also arise when policies are ignored, staff lack training for safe transfers, safety alarms are turned off, or equipment meant to prevent falls is not kept in working order.
Proving negligence in a fall injury case requires clear, credible documentation. Strong evidence may include:
Promptly requesting facility records and camera footage, known as sending a spoliation letter, can prevent critical evidence from being lost. The more thorough and detailed the evidence, the stronger the connection between the facility’s conduct and the injury.
When a fall is connected to negligence, the law allows recovery for both tangible and intangible losses. Compensation can cover the cost of medical care, rehabilitation, and any necessary long-term treatment, along with pain, emotional hardship, and reduced enjoyment of life. In the most serious situations, such as permanent disability or wrongful death, additional damages may address ongoing care requirements and the economic strain on the family.
A claim in Tucson may also include damages for loss of consortium, reflecting the loss of companionship and support suffered by a spouse. Calculating these amounts should consider practical, real-world needs such as in-home care, adaptive equipment, home modifications, and counseling services, ensuring that the resolution addresses the impact on the injured person’s life.
Building a persuasive case after a nursing home fall starts with a detailed and well-supported record of the events and how the injury could have been avoided. This often means reviewing medical charts, maintenance records, statements from witnesses, and expert opinions that point to failures in the facility’s duty of care.
Saving surveillance video, investigating staffing levels and training history, and comparing the home’s written safety policies with what occurs daily can reveal serious gaps. Putting this evidence together not only strengthens the legal position but can also highlight changes that would help prevent similar falls in the future for other residents.
When there is reason to believe a nursing home’s actions or lack of action may have contributed to a fall, it is important to address the matter immediately. Families in these situations often want plain, reliable information about their legal rights and practical options for protecting a loved one’s safety.
Jensen Phelan Law Firm can assess the facts, explain the possible legal steps, and work toward securing accountability and a fair outcome. Call us today at (928) 778-2660 to discuss your situation confidently.
Focuses in personal injury, wrongful death and insurance cases and claims, and is a former President of the Arizona Trial Lawyers Assn. and the Arizona Association for Justice. Since 1974, he has been protecting the rights of the injured in Prescott and Prescott Valley, for a total of over 40 years.
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This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by Founding Partner, Chris Jensen who has more than 30 years of legal experience as a personal injury attorney.
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