A Florida nursing home has been ordered to pay a $2 million arbitration award to the family of a woman who fell at the nursing home three years ago.
Court documents state that the resident suffered blunt head trauma and died after a fall at the facility. The resident’s family filed a complaint alleging that the facility was understaffed, and that staff were not properly trained. Additionally, the complaint stated that the nursing home lacked medical supplies, failed to provide the resident with adequate supervision, and failed to notify her physician when her condition changed.
The Florida nursing home’s resident admission contracts include an arbitration clause, so the case had to be resolved through arbitration. Lawyers for the family initially requested $5 million to $10 million in damages. The arbitration panel determined that sum was too high; therefore, they ordered the facility to pay $2 million, which is $1 million per surviving child.
The arbitration panel stated, “There was overwhelming evidence that the resident suffered a violent and painful death—a fall with multiple facial fractures, lacerations, bruising, bleeding, and later brain bleeds. The evidence showed she suffered extensively for over two weeks before dying,”
Lawyers for the facility tried to vacate the award, but the panel rejected their request. Attorneys for the family of the resident stated that they gave the facility “every opportunity to resolve the case fairly, and even after the award, they persisted in trying to vacate it.”
Issue:
Patient safety is always the number one priority when providing care to residents. If a fall does occur, the resident must be assessed thoroughly, and the plan of care revised to reduce the likelihood of future falls. The physician must be notified promptly of all falls, and if a change in condition occurs, the physician must be notified immediately. Failure to prevent falls can be considered provision of substandard quality care, and may result in an immediate jeopardy citation, fines, and lawsuits.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures for patient safety, including fall prevention protocols, to ensure that they provide evidence-based interventions to reduce injuries and falls.
- Train all appropriate staff on patient safety policies and procedures. Document that the trainings occurred, and file the signed documents in each employee’s education file.
- Periodically audit care plans to ensure that they are appropriate and contain evidence-based interventions to keep residents free from injury.
