By Dan Noll on March 29th, 2024 in Nursing Home Abuse
Jacksonville Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers Explain Liability and Damages for Bathtub Injuries Due to Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect in Illinois
One of the most common places in a nursing home or long-term care facility to suffer an injury is in a bathroom. Unfortunately, the Jacksonville nursing home abuse lawyers at the Noll Law Office know that many times these bathroom injuries are due to nursing home abuse or neglect. This specifically includes bathtub injuries, which the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) identifies falls, burns, and drownings as the top causes of bathtub injuries or fatalities in the United States. Falls are particularly devastating and cause roughly 80% of bathroom injuries, with over 3 million older adults being treated in hospitals for fall injuries each year in the United States. Although most nursing homes and long-term care facilities do an adequate job of keeping residents safe in bathrooms, and specifically in bathtubs or showers, that is not always the case. Far too many residents in nursing homes will suffer bathtub injuries due to nursing home abuse or neglect in Jacksonville and throughout the rest of Illinois.
If that happens to you or a loved one, contact the Noll Law Office to schedule a free consultation. This is true even if the nursing home, insurance adjuster, defense lawyer, or any other party is blaming you or your loved one for the fall. That’s because this is a common defense tactic used to help prevent victims from recovering the full-value of their case. Do not be victimized twice, call an experienced Jacksonville nursing home abuse lawyer to have your case reviewed to learn what rights you may have under Illinois law. Even if you believe that it may have been your fault or your loved one’s fault, nursing homes and long-term care facilities have a special duty of care to residents – especially vulnerable residents – and the blame cannot be passed so easily to victims. To learn more about your rights to compensation, contact us today by dialing (217) 414-8889.
What Are Bathtub Injuries in Illinois?
When we talk about bathtub injuries in a nursing home, we are referring to any type of injury that occurs while a resident is being bathed in a bathtub, shower, or another type of special hybrid stall that is used for washing the body. All facilities will have a combination of these types of bathing options depending on the needs of residents. Usually, a resident will be assigned to a room with an appropriate bathing setup.
For instance, a resident who needs a bathtub because he or she cannot stand or sit on a ledge or chair, will often be given a room with a bathtub. Whereas someone who needs a special unit, such as a hybrid setup with a bathtub but also a hand sprayer, will also be given a room with that type of bathroom accessible to him or her.
Unfortunately, that is not always the case. And sometimes a resident who needs a bathtub is forced to use a shower with grab bars, which is inappropriate and dangerous. This is particularly dangerous because, as the statistics show, falls are one of the most common causes of bathroom injuries in the United States. When nursing home residents are given inappropriate facilities for their use, that can unnecessarily increase their risks of falling.
Causes of Bathtub Injuries Due to Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect in Illinois
There are many different causes of bathtub injuries due to nursing home abuse or neglect. Although most of these causes could be entirely prevented, they are often not by nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Sadly, this results in many needless injuries to victims who trust nursing home facilities to properly care for them.
Some of the most common causes of bathtub injuries include the following:
Understaffing
Understaffing is one of the most common causes of any injury in a nursing home or long-term care facility, especially as it relates to bathtub or bathroom injuries. When a facility is understaffed, that means each staff member cannot spend the proper amount of time per resident. This leads to rushing or shortcuts in care for residents. One of the most common areas where overstressed, overworked, and under-supported staff members will try to save time is the daily bathing or hygienic process.
Thus, when a facility is understaffed, staff may leave residents in bathtubs and expect them to do the majority of their washing up while the staff member takes care of another resident. This could lead to staff forgetting about a resident in a bathtub, and a resident trying to get out alone and falling. It could also result in a resident burning himself or herself with hot water and not knowing how to turn it off or get out. Residents could also suffer a medical emergency in a bathtub where they become unresponsible, and drown in a tub. These can all be caused by understaffing because a staff member was supposed to be with the resident at all times, but was not.
Hot Water Burns
Residents could also get hot water burns and suffer bathtub injuries due to nursing home abuse or neglect. This should never happen, as we are taught even as young children to always check a bathtub or shower’s temperature before sitting into it. However, far too many staff members are rushing or simply fail to check before placing a resident into a bathtub or shower. This can cause extreme burns to residents, particularly those with delicate skin and who are older, vulnerable, or recovering from a surgery.
Additionally, hot water burns could also be caused by negligent maintenance of facilities or its equipment. As a facility owner, administrators and staff must properly maintain their premises. This includes hot water heaters to ensure that the water coming out is not too hot, that all valves are working properly, and that any defects are repaired or replaced. Thus, if a resident is injured by hot water burns because a mixing valve failed and therefore caused pure hot water to go into the tub or shower, as opposed to adding cold water to get the proper temperature, that could also be nursing home negligence.
Drownings
Nursing home residents often require a higher level of care for many basic, daily activities or necessities. This includes bathing, where simple tasks such as showering or bathing could be dangerous. It is particularly true when residents have medical conditions that could affect their ability to recognize danger, escape danger, or call for help. One of the most obvious places that this can be deadly is in bathtubs.
Drownings in bathtubs do not just happen to young children, but also elderly residents in nursing homes. Any resident who is even a marginal risk for drowning should be protected by a facility. The failure to do so could be due to nursing home abuse or neglect – especially if a nursing home is understaffed or improperly trained.
Common Bathtub Injuries Due to Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect
Residents of a nursing home could suffer many different types of bathtub injuries getting in and out of the bathtub or shower. Sometimes these injuries are magnified by a resident’s condition, such as being on blood thinners or recovering from surgery. Despite this, residents may still recover compensation because facilities may owe a heightened duty of care to safeguard residents from any injury caused by careless conduct – especially when a resident is more vulnerable.
Some of the most common bathtub injuries due to nursing home abuse or neglect include the following:
- Traumatic head injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Broken bones
- Dislocated joints
- Separated joints, specifically the shoulder
- Burn injuries
- Blindness from hot water or chemicals in a tub that were not cleaned out
- Significant scarring or disfigurement (such as falling and hitting one’s head)
- Organ injuries
- Nerve injuries, especially brachial plexus injuries from falling
- Torn ligaments or tendons
- Hypoxic or anoxic injuries to the brain
- Wrongful death, and
- Other types of catastrophic, debilitating, or fatal personal injuries that an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer in Jacksonville could handle for you and your family.
Did a Loved One Suffer Bathtub Injuries Due to Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect in Jacksonville or Elsewhere in Illinois? Call the Noll Law Office
Unlike other personal injury law firms, the Noll Law Office offers free consultations, has no obligation to sign up, pays the upfront costs of litigation, and only has those expenses reimbursed and their lawyer fees paid after recovering compensation for victims and their families. That means there is no upfront cost or financial risk to begin working with their Jacksonville nursing home abuse lawyers.
In addition, there are fifth-generation lawyers who handle cases in a personalized manner. Unlike large law firms that shovel cases to young and inexperienced associates, victims and their families who retain the Noll Law Office have their cases handled locally by one or both of the law firm’s experienced attorneys. This means you can call and speak with someone who has actual knowledge of your case right here in your community. To learn more about scheduling a FREE case evaluation with the Noll Law Office and their compassionate legal team, contact them today.