Nursing homes in Hollywood and South Florida are supposed to be safe facilities for elderly residents who need additional support with everyday tasks. Some of the residents who are in nursing homes have mobility issues while others have cognitive conditions or conditions such as Alzheimer’s.
Unfortunately, when nursing home residents are not given the adequate care and supervision they need, they can become involved in pedestrian accidents outside the nursing home. This can happen in a number of ways, and all of them are preventable:
- Wandering and elopement near the premises. When residents are allowed to wander off the premises due to insufficient supervision, they can wander into traffic. In some cases, residents with serious ailments such as dementia have even suffered drowning and fatal injuries because they lacked the support needed to keep them safe.
- Incorrect supervision on outings. Many residents of nursing homes are permitted to go on outings. They may be allowed to go shopping or may be taken to doctor’s appointments. On such excursions, it is important to have an adequate staff to resident ratio to ensure residents are monitored at all times and cannot wander off.
- Inadequate property control. Nursing homes must have secure windows, doors, and monitoring systems to ensure patients do not wander off and cannot reach traffic areas where they are at risk of accidents. Property contract can mean fencing, security cameras, or door alarms to ensure patients cannot wander.
- Lack of correct support for specific ailments. Patients in nursing homes need different levels of care. Patients with forms of dementia may need extra monitoring to prevent elopement. Patients with mobility problems may need more help when they cross streets, since they may not be able to cross during a standard light and may therefore be at risk of an intersection accident.
- Understaffing. Too few staff presents a higher risk. When there are too few staff members, a patients who leaves the premises may not be noticed for some time and if there are too few staff members, there may not be adequate support for everyone.
- Incorrect training. Staff should be trained on preventing elopement, in helping residents when they leave the property, and more. They should know how to keep residents safe and supported.
If you or a loved one have been injured in a nursing home in Southern Florida, contact Flaxman Law Group at 1-866-352-9626 (1-866-FLAXMAN) to schedule a consultation with a Hollywood nursing home abuse and negligence attorney. You may have a legal claim which allows you to seek compensation so you can pay for medical costs and new care for a loved one. Our legal team has more than 60 years of combined experience and would be pleased to review your potential claim with you.