Five Serious Injuries a Nursing Home Resident Can Suffer in a Fall 

 Posted on October 29, 2026 in Nursing Home Falls

Falls are one of the most common causes of injury in nursing homes across the country. Many falls are just genuine accidents, but some can be traced back to the negligence of nursing home staff – as much as they attempt to deny it. If you believe your elderly loved one suffered a preventable fall injury, get in contact with an Addison, IL nursing home neglect attorney.

At Schwartz Injury Law, we have a track record for securing real compensation for nursing home residents and their families. In one notable case, we won $300,000 in a claim involving a Chicago nursing home that failed to institute fall precautions, leading to a hip fracture.

How Do Nursing Home Falls Happen?

Nursing home falls often happen when staff members do not give residents the help they need. Many residents have trouble walking, seeing, or keeping their balance. Some need help getting out of bed or using the bathroom. When a facility is short on staff, residents may wait too long for help. They may then try to get up on their own and fall.

Unsafe conditions inside the building can also cause falls. Wet floors, dim lighting, loose rugs, and cluttered hallways can make a resident slip or trip. Broken bed rails, wheelchairs with faulty brakes, and missing grab bars in bathrooms add to the danger.

Medication mistakes are another common cause of falling accidents. Some drugs cause dizziness, confusion, or drowsiness. If staff members give the wrong dose or fail to watch for side effects, a resident may lose balance without warning. Nursing homes should assess each resident’s fall risk and create a care plan to prevent falls. When a facility skips these steps or ignores the plan, a fall becomes much more likely.

What Five Injuries Are Associated With Nursing Home Falls?

Injuries from nursing home falls tend to be more serious for older adults than for younger people. Bones are weaker, and healing takes longer. A single fall can lead to a long hospital stay. Five injuries come up often in these cases.

Traumatic Brain Injuries

A traumatic brain injury can happen when a resident’s head hits the floor, a bed frame, or a wall during a fall. Even a mild blow can cause bleeding in the brain. Many residents take blood thinners, which raise the risk of serious bleeding. Warning signs include confusion, headaches, vomiting, and unusual sleepiness. Staff members should report a head strike to a doctor right away, even if the resident seems fine at first.

Hip Fractures

Hip fractures are among the most common injuries after a nursing home fall. Most require surgery and weeks of rehabilitation. Many older adults never walk the same way again after a broken hip. Long stretches in bed can also lead to bedsores, blood clots, and pneumonia.

Spinal Cord Damage

Spinal cord damage from a fall can affect movement, feeling, and even breathing. A resident who lands hard on the back or neck may suffer broken vertebrae or nerve damage. Some of these injuries cause partial or full paralysis. A resident with this type of harm may need round-the-clock care for the rest of their life.

Internal Bleeding

Internal bleeding after a fall is dangerous since it is not always easy to spot. A resident may bleed inside the abdomen, chest, or skull without any visible wound. Bruising, pain, pale skin, or a sudden drop in alertness can be warning signs. Without fast treatment, internal bleeding can become life-threatening.

Broken Arms

Broken arms often happen when a resident reaches out to catch a fall. Wrist and upper arm fractures are especially common. For an older adult, a broken arm can make it hard to eat, dress, bathe, or use a walker. This loss of independence can lead to more falls later on.

What Compensation Can You Get From a Nursing Home Fall in 2026?

Compensation for a nursing home fall depends on how badly the resident was hurt and how the injury changed daily life. Under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act, a facility’s owner and licensee can be held liable when staff members injure a resident through careless or intentional acts (210 ILCS 45/3-601). The law also allows a resident who wins a claim to recover attorney fees and costs. Damages in a nursing home fall claim may include:

• Medical bills for emergency care, surgery, hospital stays, and therapy

• Future care costs, such as added nursing help or medical equipment

• Physical pain and mental suffering

• Loss of enjoyment of life

• Disfigurement or lasting disability

The value of a claim depends on medical records, care notes, and proof that the facility failed to keep the resident safe. Time limits also apply. Most personal injury claims in Illinois must be filed within two years. Incident reports and staffing records can also become harder to get as time passes, so families should act early.

What Can You Do When a Nursing Home Fall Leads to a Death?

When a nursing home fall leads to a death, the family may be able to file a wrongful death claim. In Illinois, the personal representative of the resident’s estate brings this claim. This person is often a spouse, an adult child, or someone named in the will.

A wrongful death claim seeks compensation for the surviving spouse and next of kin. It can cover grief, sorrow, and the loss of the person’s love and companionship. Families may also recover funeral and burial costs.

Families usually have two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death claim in Illinois. An attorney can request the resident’s chart, fall-risk assessments, and staffing logs. These records may show that the facility ignored warning signs or failed to follow its own care plan. A claim can hold the facility accountable and give the family clear answers about what went wrong.

Contact Our DuPage County, IL Nursing Home Injury Lawyers

A fall in a nursing home can leave a resident with painful injuries and a family with hard questions. At Schwartz Injury Law, we investigate nursing home falls, track down the records facilities may not want to share, and pursue compensation for injured residents and grieving families. When you reach out, you will speak with a real attorney during intake, not a call center or an assistant reading from a script. Contact our Addison, IL nursing home neglect attorneys or call 312-535-4625 to schedule a free consultation.