Peoria Bedrail Injury Attorneys

Injury Attorneys for Pressure Ulcers Throughout Illinois

Bedrail injuries in nursing homes are a serious issue that can lead to severe consequences for elderly patients. Unfortunately, nursing home negligence is often the cause of these injuries, leaving families feeling helpless and frustrated. If someone you love has suffered an injury due to nursing home negligence, it is important to understand the steps you can take to protect your loved one’s rights and interests and ensure that they will receive the care and treatment needed in the future.

At Nursing Home Injury Center, we work to help families address nursing home injuries correctly. We can investigate the circumstances surrounding an injury and identify the steps that a nursing home or its staff should have taken to prevent the situation. We will work to ensure that a facility is held responsible for the negligence that led to an injury. In addition to ensuring that an injured nursing home resident will receive the proper treatment for issues related to an injury, we can make sure the proper measures are put in place to prevent risks that could threaten them or other residents.

Safety Issues That May Lead to Bedrail Injuries in Nursing Homes

When they are used correctly, bedrails can be essential for protecting the safety of nursing home residents and ensuring that they can move about correctly. Bedrails can act as a guard that prevents a person from being injured in falls, while also serving as support to help patients get into or out of bed. Bedrails may have electrical or mechanical components that allow them to be easily raised and lowered when necessary, or they may be adjusted to different heights depending on a person’s needs.

Unfortunately, bedrails may also be a cause of patient injuries. Nursing home residents may suffer harm due to:

• Malfunctioning bedrails – Bedrails can cause severe injuries if they are not properly inspected, maintained, and in good working order. Bedrails that are loose or malfunctioning can lead to patients falling out of bed, getting wedged between a bedrail and mattress, or becoming entangled in the mechanism, resulting in serious and potentially life-threatening injuries.
• Improper supervision and lack of assistance – Some nursing home residents may struggle to get into or out of bed on their own, even with the help of bedrails. If nursing home staff members do not supervise patients to address their needs in these situations, or if they do not provide assistance when residents need to get up, go to the bathroom, engage in activities, or return to bed, falls or other types of injuries may occur.
• Medication errors or chemical restraint – Certain types of medications may affect a patient’s bodily coordination or cause them to become disoriented. Staff members may also purposely use some drugs to sedate patients and prevent them from engaging in behaviors that are considered troublesome. The effects of these drugs may lead patients to attempt to get into or out of bed without assistance. If they are unable to raise or lower bedrails correctly, or if they attempt to crawl over a bedrail, they may experience fall injuries, or they may become trapped between the bedrail and the mattress.
• Physical restraint – In some cases, patients who are physically weak or who have mobility issues may be prevented from getting out of bed by bedrails, and nursing home staff members may even use bedrails to keep people confined in bed. This is a form of nursing home abuse, and it may lead patients to attempt to get out of bed without assistance, which could result in serious injuries.

Responding to Bedrail-Related Injuries in Nursing Homes

Bedrail injuries can be a serious issue for nursing home residents, and nursing homes must take steps to ensure that bedrails are working properly and used correctly. If nursing home staff members do not provide proper supervision or assistance, or if they take actions that could cause patients to suffer harm, families will need to determine how to address these issues. At Nursing Home Injury Center, we understand how important it is for families to have an advocate who will fight on behalf of an injured loved one to make sure they receive the treatment they deserve. We work hard to hold negligent nursing homes accountable so that no other resident has to suffer from preventable harm. if you believe your loved one was the victim of a bedrail-related injury at a nursing home facility, contact us today at 309-524-6900 and schedule a free consultation.