An article published last February highlights the dangers of using bed rails in nursing home facilities.
A 94-year old woman was found dead by caretakers. Her head was stuck between the mattress and the rails. The tragedy occurred at a Greene County nursing home in Pennsylvania.
The risk of bed rails has been known for at least twenty years. And while some nursing homes are phasing out bedrails, many elderly care facilities still employ them.
Elderly residents, especially those with cognitive decline and who are frail and thin, are most susceptible to becoming trapped by their bed rails.
Bed rails were implemented to minimize patient falls from bed. However, researchers eventually determined that though falls from bed decreased when rails were in place, the rails often made falls more injurious.
The tragedy at the Greene County elderly care facility highlights the worst-case scenario of bed rail entrapment.
The Kosieradzki-Smith Law Firm has in the past reported on the dangers of nursing resident bed rails. For a more detailed account of the dangers they pose, read our nine-part series The Dangers of Resident Bed Rails in Nursing Homes.
The Kosieradzki • Smith Law Firm represents clients in cases involving catastrophic injury caused by nursing homes and other care facilities that fail to provide proper care. If you believe your loved one has been harmed due neglect or abuse in a nursing home, take action and contact the Kosieradzki • Smith Law Firm online or call us toll-free at (877) 552-2873 to set up a no-cost, no-obligation consultation.
