Arizona Assisted Living Fall Lawyers

Falls are the leading cause of injury and injury death for adults 65 and older, according to the CDC. In an assisted living facility, many of those falls are predictable. The resident has a known fall history, a walker, dementia, or a medication that causes dizziness, and the facility knows it.

When a facility knows a resident is at risk and still leaves them to get up alone at night, the fall isn’t just bad luck. It can be neglect that Arizona law lets the family hold the facility accountable for.

Why Falls Happen in Assisted Living

Most serious falls in care facilities trace back to a short list of failures.

Small assisted living homes are a particular concern. Arizona licenses roughly 1,711 homes with 10 beds or fewer. Many run with a single caregiver on the overnight shift.

Risk Factors a Facility Should Notice

A facility doesn’t have to guess which residents are likely to fall. The warning signs are usually in the resident’s own file, and a good assessment looks for them at move-in and after any change in health.

• A history of falls, including any fall in the past year
• Dementia or confusion, especially with getting up at night
• Walkers, canes or wheelchairs, or trouble standing without help
• Medications that cause drowsiness, dizziness or low blood pressure
• Incontinence or urgency, which leads residents to rush to the bathroom
• Vision problems or recent weight loss and weakness

When several of these are present and the service plan doesn’t change, the facility has a hard time arguing the fall was a surprise. A new diagnosis, a hospital stay or a new medication should also trigger a fresh look at fall risk.

What the Facility Owed Your Loved One

Arizona’s assisted living rules require a written service plan for each resident. The plan describes the help that resident needs, and a resident with a fall history or limited mobility should have a plan that addresses it.

A facility that accepts a resident also accepts the duty to provide the care that resident needs. If it can’t safely meet those needs, it shouldn’t keep the resident without changes to staffing or care.

ARS 46-455 gives a vulnerable adult a civil claim against a caregiver or facility that causes injury through neglect. A vulnerable adult includes anyone 18 or older who can’t protect themselves because of a physical or mental impairment. Most assisted living residents with a fall history meet that definition.

Injuries From Falls

These are the fall injuries that most often lead to a claim.

• Hip fractures. Often require surgery and a hospital stay, and many older adults never return to their prior level of mobility.
• Other fractures. Broken wrists, shoulders, pelvises and vertebrae.
• Head injuries. Brain bleeds and traumatic brain injuries, especially in residents on blood thinners.
• Death after a fall. A fall can lead to surgery complications, pneumonia, or a decline that ends in death.

A fall that left a bruise and needed no hospital care usually isn’t a case. A fall that put the resident in the hospital, or was followed by their death, deserves a close look.

Proving the Fall Was Preventable

The facility’s own records usually decide these cases. The documents that matter most are listed below.

• The fall risk assessment and when it was last updated
• The service plan and any notes about mobility, transfers or toileting help
• The incident report for this fall and any earlier falls
• Staffing schedules for the shift when the fall happened
• Call light or alarm logs, if the facility keeps them
• Medication records showing what the resident was given that day
• Hospital records describing the injury and how it happened

A pattern of earlier falls with no change to the plan is strong evidence. So is a state citation for fall prevention failures at the same facility, which you can search on AZ Care Check.

What to Do After a Fall

1. Make sure your loved one gets hospital care. Ask the doctors to document the injury and what the resident said about how it happened.
2. Ask for the incident report in writing. Note who you asked and when.
3. Photograph the room. Capture the bed height, alarms, call light, walker placement and floor.
4. Write down names. Record which staff were on duty and what each person told you.
5. Don’t sign anything new from the facility about the incident without reading it closely.
6. Report it. File with APS and the Arizona Department of Health Services, which licenses assisted living facilities.

Wrongful Death After a Fall

When a fall leads to a resident’s death, Arizona’s wrongful death statute, ARS 12-611, lets the surviving spouse, children or parents bring a claim. The deadline is generally two years from the date of death. Damages can include the family’s loss of love, companionship and guidance, as well as medical and funeral costs.

See our wrongful death practice page for more on how these claims work.

Damages in Assisted Living Fall Cases

A resident or family can recover medical expenses, pain and suffering, and loss of quality of life. Punitive damages are available under Arizona common law when the facility acted with an “evil mind,” such as ignoring repeated falls it knew about.

Arizona has no cap on damages in these cases. Every case depends on the injury, the records and the available insurance, and past results don’t predict future outcomes.

Related Pages

For other injuries in care facilities, see our assisted living neglect page, bedsore page and nursing home neglect page. For a facility’s state record, see our investigation of Arizona’s small group homes.