Cogburn Davidson | September 23, 2025 | Nursing Home Abuse
Falls in Nevada nursing homes aren’t just accidents; they’re frequently preventable incidents that can devastate a resident’s quality of life. At Cogburn Davidson Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers, we’ve seen how proper facility protocols and family involvement can dramatically reduce fall risks.
For twenty years, Cogburn Davidson Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers has been a fierce advocate for nursing home abuse and neglect victims and their families. With more than four decades of collective experience, you can trust our award-winning litigators to secure favorable outcomes. We’ve secured hundreds of millions of dollars for clients who have put their trust in us.
Schedule a free consultation with a nursing home abuse lawyer on our team to get started on your case today.
What Are the Facility Responsibilities for Preventing Falls in Nevada Nursing Homes?
Nevada nursing homes are required to create comprehensive fall prevention strategies tailored to each resident’s unique needs and risk factors. Facilities bear the responsibility to assess, monitor, and actively work to prevent falls through evidence-based interventions and proper staffing.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning
Preventing falls in Nevada nursing homes requires facilities to conduct thorough assessments of each resident’s fall risk factors upon admission and regularly thereafter:
- Initial and ongoing assessments: Facilities must evaluate residents within 14 days of admission and quarterly thereafter. We often find that nursing homes skip these assessments or conduct them superficially, missing critical risk factors.
- Individualized care plans: Each resident requires a customized fall prevention plan tailored to their specific risks. Your loved one’s plan should address mobility limitations, the effects of medication, cognitive status, and environmental hazards.
- Regular plan updates: Care plans must evolve as residents’ conditions change. When facilities fail to update plans after hospitalizations or health changes, preventable falls often follow.
- Interdisciplinary team involvement: Physical therapists, nurses, and physicians should collaborate to develop and implement fall prevention strategies. Our attorneys frequently discover that facilities don’t coordinate care team efforts effectively.
Medication Management Facility Responsibilities
Many nursing home falls result from medication side effects like dizziness, confusion, or drowsiness that facilities should monitor and manage. Staff are responsible for reviewing medication regimens regularly, watching for dangerous drug interactions, and adjusting dosages to minimize fall risks while maintaining therapeutic benefits.
Environmental Modifications
Nevada nursing homes must maintain safe physical environments that minimize fall hazards and promote resident mobility and independence:
- Non-slip flooring in all areas
- Adequate lighting in rooms and hallways
- Grab bars in bathrooms and showers
- Clear, unobstructed pathways
- Properly maintained furniture and equipment
- Appropriate bed heights for each resident
Exercise Programs and Assistive Devices
Facilities must provide appropriate exercise programs and mobility aids to help residents maintain strength, balance, and independence safely:
- Structured exercise programs: Regular physical activity helps residents maintain muscle strength and coordination. We’ve handled cases where facilities claimed to offer exercise programs but rarely conducted them.
- Proper assistive devices: Walkers, canes, and wheelchairs must be properly fitted and maintained. Broken or improperly adjusted equipment significantly increases the risk of falls.
- Staff training on device use: Employees require proper training to assist residents in using mobility aids correctly. Inadequate training often leads to improper transfers and preventable accidents.
- Regular equipment inspections: Facilities must routinely check and maintain all assistive devices. Documentation of these inspections becomes important evidence if a fall occurs.
Supervision and Staffing
Adequate staffing levels and proper supervision represent fundamental requirements for preventing falls in Nevada nursing homes:
- Sufficient staffing ratios: Facilities must maintain enough trained staff to monitor and assist residents. Understaffing remains a leading cause of preventable falls we investigate.
- Continuous monitoring of high-risk residents: Those with dementia, mobility issues, or recent falls need closer supervision. Our lawyers frequently find that facilities fail to provide adequate monitoring despite being aware of known risks.
- Prompt response to call lights: Delayed responses force residents to attempt dangerous transfers alone. Response time documentation often reveals systemic neglect in fall cases.
- Proper staff training: All employees should understand fall prevention protocols and transfer techniques. We frequently uncover inadequate training programs during our investigations.
What Are Family Advocacy Rights and Resources for Nursing Home Falls?
Families have significant rights under Nevada law to advocate for the safety of their loved ones. They can access various resources to ensure proper fall prevention measures:
- Access to records and reports: You can request all documentation related to falls and near-miss incidents. Facilities sometimes try to hide these records, but our attorneys know how to obtain them.
- Participation in care planning meetings: Families should actively participate in developing fall prevention strategies. Your input about your loved one’s history and needs proves invaluable.
- Right to file complaints: You can report concerns to Nevada’s Bureau of Health Care Quality and Compliance. We help families navigate the complaint process while pursuing legal remedies.
- Long-term care ombudsman services: These advocates can investigate concerns and mediate disputes. Working with an ombudsman while consulting an attorney strengthens your position.
Nursing Home Negligence That Causes Slip and Fall Accidents
Negligent practices in Nevada nursing homes create dangerous conditions that lead directly to preventable falls:
- Failure to conduct proper risk assessments
- Inadequate supervision of wandering residents
- Improper use of physical or chemical restraints
- Delayed response to call lights or requests for assistance
- Failure to maintain safe environmental conditions
- Insufficient staff training on transfer techniques
- Poor communication between shifts about fall risks
How Do I Prove Negligence in a Nevada Nursing Home Fall?
Under Nevada law, establishing negligence requires that the nursing home abuse attorneys at Cogburn Davidson Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers prove that the facility breached its duty of care through specific failures in fall prevention protocols:
- Duty of care: The nursing home owed your loved one a legal duty to provide safe conditions.
- Breach of duty: The facility violated its duty through action or inaction.
- Causation: The breach directly caused your loved one’s fall and injuries.
- Damages: Your loved one suffered actual harm from the fall, such as medical bills.
What Damages Are Available for a Nevada Nursing Home Fall?
Nevada law allows recovery of various damages when nursing home negligence causes a fall:
- Medical expenses for treating fall-related injuries
- Pain and suffering compensation
- Rehabilitation and therapy costs
- Lost quality of life damages
- Costs of increased care needs
- Punitive damages for gross negligence
- Wrongful death damages if the fall proves fatal
How Do I Take Legal Action in a Nevada Nursing Home Fall?
Taking legal action requires understanding Nevada’s statute of limitations, which generally allows two years from the date of injury to file a claim or lawsuit under NRS 11.190. At Cogburn Davidson Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers, we handle all aspects of your case, from investigation through resolution.
Filing an Insurance Claim
When insurance claims prove insufficient, filing a civil lawsuit may become necessary to obtain full compensation. We prepare cases by carefully gathering medical records, expert opinions, and witness testimony to build compelling arguments that facilities failed to prevent avoidable falls.
Filing a Civil Lawsuit
When insurance claims prove insufficient, filing a civil lawsuit may become necessary to obtain full compensation. We prepare cases meticulously, gathering medical records, expert opinions, and witness testimony to build compelling arguments that facilities failed to prevent avoidable falls.
Consult With an Experienced Nevada Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Now
Cogburn Davidson Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers is Nevada’s top-rated personal injury law firm, securing more than $100 million for clients who put their faith in us. Don’t do this alone when quality legal representation is only a phone call away.
If your loved one suffered a preventable fall in a Nevada nursing home, don’t wait to seek legal help. Critical evidence can disappear, and witnesses’ memories may fade over time. At Cogburn Davidson Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers, we work on a contingency basis; you pay nothing unless we secure a favorable outcome for you.
Contact our firm online to schedule your free consultation today to discuss how we can hold negligent facilities accountable.