On admission to the nursing home, one thing that the nursing home staff must do when a resident is first admitted is assess them. From head to toe, the nursing staff must assess the residents' mobility status and what types of care needs they have, referred to as ADL, activities of daily living. One of which is use of the toilet. The nursing home then makes a determination as to how much assistance, or how many people should be helping the resident when they go to the bathroom. Now, far too often a resident who has great need, who has very limited mobility needs, may require two people to help them go to the bathroom to make sure that they are safe.

Far too often, due to staffing personnel concerns, nursing homes form care plans requiring that only one person should help a resident to the bathroom. Unfortunately, this is often just not enough to keep the residents safe. A tragic result is far too often, while going to the bathroom, or even in the bathroom with one nursing aide helping them, a resident will take a fall, and sustain some type of a fracture. It is usually very difficult for elderly and medically-compromised nursing home residents to recover, even from a fracture that perhaps someone younger would recover from more easily.

So what can you do to make sure your loved one is getting the care that they need when they’re going to the bathroom? Well, first of all you should ask the nursing staff, how many people are helping a loved one of yours when they’re going to the bathroom. Is it one person, is it two persons. Some nursing homes, when its appropriate, will have as many as three people help transfer a resident. It is therefore very important to find out how many nursing staff members are required to assist.

If your loved one is able to communicate with you, talk with them, and make sure that they feel safe and they feel secure when they’re actually going there, and keep an eye out. Make sure the nursing staff is anticipating your loved ones' needs and helping them in the way that they should.

Our law firm handled a case recently, a very tragic case, where there was one CNA, a single nurse’s aide who was helping a resident in the bathroom, and it just wasn’t enough. Sure enough she turned around to grab something for the resident, and the elderly woman fell off the toilet and injured herself very, very badly. There really should have been two people there helping her, but there wasn’t. This ended in a very tragic result for that nursing home resident. If you’ve been in a similar situation, or you’ve got some concerns about a loved one in a nursing home that may not be getting the care that they need, pick up the phone and give us a call.

About Leitner Varughese PLLC

Leitner Varughese PLLC is a cutting-edge litigation and trial law firm uniquely experienced in handling high-profile, complex lawsuits involving serious injuries and wrongful death. The Firm has vast experience in handling cases involving serious injuries caused by:

• Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect • Medical Malpractice • Construction Accidents • Motor Vehicle Accidents • Trip / Slip & Fall Accidents • Labor Law Violations • Negligent Premises Security • Products Liability • Defective Drugs

Leitner Varughese attorneys are routinely heralded as preeminent trial lawyers by nationally acclaimed organizations including the National Top 100 Trial Lawyers, Super Lawyers, American Academy of Trial Attorneys Premier 100, Rue Ratings Best Attorneys in America, America’s Top 100 Attorneys, and National Academy of Jurisprudence Premier 100 Trial Attorneys.

The attorneys at Leitner Varughese are routinely called upon to handle high-profile and newsworthy cases, many of which have been featured in news and media outlets, including the New York Law Journal, the New York Post, the New York Daily News, Channel 7 Eyewitness News, CBS News, Best of Long Island Press, Newsday, News 12, the LI Herald, and FIOS 1, amongst others.

In just the past few years, Leitner Varughese attorneys have facilitated in the recovery of over $100 million on behalf of clients that were injured because of car and truck accidents, construction accidents (involving New York State Labor Law violations), slip/trip and falls, and defective pharmaceuticals, including the recovery of over $50 million alone in verdicts and settlements on behalf of the victims of nursing home neglect and abuse.

For more information about Leitner Varughese PLLC or to be a part of our team, please contact us at (855) LV LAW NY (855-585-2969), or visit our website at www.lvlawny.com.