Medical Negligence in Nursing Homes: What Families Need to Know

You expect the nursing home your loved one lives in to handle their medical care: medications, wound treatment, doctor visits, safe mobility.But when a medication is missed, an infection ignored, a fall unreported, or a wound left untreated — the result can be more than a setback. It can be medical negligence.

You’re looking out for someone vulnerable.You deserve clarity.And your loved one deserves safety.

What the Data Shows

While data labeled exactly “medical negligence in nursing homes” is limited, the available statistics point to serious care-failures:

• Among U.S. nursing home residents, about half fall every year, and about 1 in 3 of those who fall will fall again within a year. Source: Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, Falls in Long-Term Care Facilities.

• A recent study found that reporting rates for major injury falls and pressure-ulcer hospitalizations were well below 80% among many nursing homes — suggesting large numbers of serious care failures go unreported. Source: “Study: Major Underreporting of Fall and Pressure Ulcer Injuries in U.S. Nursing Homes”.

• Among nursing home residents, about 11% have pressure ulcers, according to the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society via CDC data. Source: Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Nursing Home Care FastStats.

  
  

These facts show this truth: When the medical care in a facility slips, consequences happen quickly — and often privately.

Signs of Medical Negligence Families Should Watch For

Medical negligence doesn’t always look like a dramatic mistake — it can appear as ongoing failures in care. Families may notice:

Medical & physical signs:

• Medications consistently missed or changed without explanation

• Wounds or skin breakdown that aren’t healing or are worsening

• Repeated or preventable falls

• Infections or sepsis not being treated promptly

• Transfers to hospital for conditions that should have been managed in the facility

  
  

Behavior or emotional signs:

• The resident becomes more confused, frailer, or mobility declines rapidly

• They seem afraid of staff during medical checks or transfers

• Communication from the nursing home becomes vague or evasive

  
  

Facility red flags:

• Missing or incomplete wound-care logs, fall/prevention records, medication charts

• Explanations like “That’s just aging” or “She fell again” used routinely

• Staff shifting their story when you ask direct questions

• A pattern of residents being denied medical follow-up or monitored poorly

If your loved one seems to be getting worse instead of stable — especially when you expected improvement — that concern is valid.

What You Should Do if You Suspect Medical Negligence

You don’t need to wait for definitive proof. Your observations matter. Start with:

1. Keep a medical care journalNote medications, wound changes, doctor visits, falls, or hospital transfers — with dates, times, and staff names when possible.

2. Request medical and care recordsAsk for medication administration records, wound-care charts, fall reports, physician orders, and transfers.If staff delay or claim “lost records,” mark that as a red flag.

3. Ask specific questions

   • “How often was she repositioned for that wound?”

   • “Why was his medication changed without notifying us?”

   • “What is the fall-prevention plan for him?”Answers that are vague or inconsistent warrant further review.

4. Schedule an independent medical examEven a consultation with an outside physician can clarify whether a wound or condition was avoidable.

5. Visit unannounced at varied timesMorning rounds, evening assistance, weekends — care may be very different when the facility isn’t expecting you.

6. Speak up to protect your loved one and othersIf you sense something is wrong — you’re likely right. You are the first line of defense.

   
   

   

How We Can Help

When you contact us at iNursingHomeAbuse.com, we connect you with attorneys who understand long-term care medical systems and institutional failures. With help you get:

• A free, confidential review to determine whether your loved one’s case may involve medical negligence

• Access to attorneys who have worked cases involving nursing home medical errors, wound-care failure, falls from poor supervision

• No upfront cost or obligation — you stay in control

• Nationwide support, matched to your state

• Guidance through the often-confusing process of documenting care failures and building accountability

  
  

You don’t have to navigate this alone. Professionals know how to ask the right questions, request the right records, and push institutions to explain themselves.

You’re Not Imagining It — And You’re Not Overreacting

When your loved one’s condition worsens in a facility, when the explanations don’t add up, when care seems less careful than expected — it may be more than “just aging.”

You deserve answers. Your loved one deserves proper care.

Reach out today for a free review — your vigilance can make a difference.