In nursing homes and assisted living facilities, falls don’t just happen — they happen often. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than three million older adults end up in emergency rooms every year due to fall-related injuries, and over 30,000 die from those injuries. That makes falls the number one cause of injury-related death in seniors.
But while facilities may act like this is just part of aging, the truth is, most falls reflect a failure in oversight, staffing or environmental safety — not just fragile bones or bad luck.
Injuries from falls can be life-altering or fatal
Once a fall happens, the physical damage can be devastating. Your parent could suffer a fractured hip, a spinal injury or a traumatic brain bleed. And unlike younger adults, seniors don’t recover quickly. Their bones heal slowly, their muscles atrophy faster and long hospital stays often lead to confusion, infection or permanent loss of mobility.
What starts as a stumble in the hallway can end with a wheelchair, 24-hour care or worse — and that’s the part too many families don’t see coming.
Most falls in care facilities are preventable
That is what makes these injuries so frustrating — not just that they are common, but that so many could have been avoided with basic care. Facilities are supposed to evaluate fall risks, assist with mobility and maintain safe walkways. But when staff are stretched thin or poorly trained, those steps get skipped.
As AP News reports, staffing shortages in nursing homes have become so common that federal regulators are stepping in, and not because it’s a new problem, but because too many facilities keep failing to protect residents from preventable harm.
Red flags that may point to neglect
If you’re not sure whether a fall could have been prevented, look at the details. Repeated bruises in unusual places, sudden hospital visits, staff who can’t explain what happened — these are all signs that someone is not doing their job.
Maybe your parent seems more fearful, withdrawn or reluctant to walk. Maybe you’re hearing different versions of the same story every time you ask. These patterns don’t just hint at neglect — they build the case for it. And in most situations, it’s family members like you who notice the warning signs first.
You suspect something’s wrong, what now?
Don’t brush off that gut feeling. If something seems off, start writing things down — dates, symptoms, responses, photos and medical records — and don’t hesitate to ask direct questions. You trusted this facility to keep your parent safe. If that trust is starting to erode, it’s okay to push for answers. You don’t need to second-guess what’s happening — talk to someone who’s seen this before and knows how to step in.
