The short answer
Nursing home fall victims in California can recover compensation if the facility failed to provide adequate supervision, fall-prevention measures, or care. You generally have two years to file (CCP § 335.1). Document the injuries and consult a lawyer immediately.
A fall can change everything for an older adult. A resident who walked to the dining room last week may now be recovering from hip surgery, facing a brain bleed, or unable to return to their prior level of independence. For many seniors, a serious fall starts a decline that is hard to reverse. Families are often told simply that their loved one was found on the floor, with few details about how it happened or what the staff did beforehand.
Nursing homes and residential care facilities are expected to know which residents are at risk of falling and to take reasonable steps to prevent it. That means assessing fall risk, reviewing medications that cause dizziness, providing walkers and wheelchairs that fit, answering call lights, assisting with transfers and toileting, and supervising residents with dementia who may try to get up alone. Skilled nursing facilities across Los Angeles County are subject to federal and state rules that require this kind of individualized care planning.
Our founding attorneys spent years on the defense side, as insurance-defense lawyers and in-house at a major insurer. We know the typical response to a fall claim: the resident was independent, refused help, or fell despite every precaution. We test those explanations against care plans, prior fall history, staffing records, and the facility's own policies, because the answer is often in whether the facility responded to warning signs it already had.
If your loved one was hurt in a fall at a care facility, we can help you find out what happened. Many families never receive a clear explanation after a fall. We can help you request the records, review the facility's fall-prevention plan, and understand whether the injury may have been preventable. Consultations are free, and you pay no attorney's fee unless we recover compensation for you.
From the other side of the table
How the insurer's adjuster sees your claim
Not every fall is negligence, and they know it
Insurers start from the premise that some falls happen despite good care. The key question is whether the facility identified the risk and took reasonable steps. We focus on what the facility knew before the fall and what it did about it.
Prior falls are the turning point
A resident with earlier falls, near-misses, or a documented high-risk score presents a very different case. When a facility fails to update the care plan after a prior fall, adjusters recognize that as a serious problem for the defense.
Restraint arguments cut both ways
Facilities sometimes argue they could not restrain a resident to prevent falls. That is true, as federal rules limit restraints. But alternatives such as bed and chair alarms, low beds, floor mats, scheduled toileting, and closer supervision are available, and we examine whether they were used.
The post-fall response matters
A delay in assessing a resident after a fall, moving them improperly, or failing to send them for imaging can worsen injuries. Insurers look closely at post-fall documentation, and so do we.
Why it happens
Common causes
Unassisted transfers and toileting
Many falls happen when residents who need help getting out of bed or to the bathroom try to do it alone because no one answered the call light.
Inadequate fall risk assessment
Facilities that do not assess fall risk on admission, after a change in condition, or after a prior fall may miss the need for additional precautions.
Medication side effects
Sedatives, antipsychotics, blood pressure medications, and other drugs can cause dizziness, confusion, and unsteady walking when not properly monitored.
Unsafe environment
Wet floors, poor lighting, cluttered rooms, beds at the wrong height, and missing grab bars all increase the risk of falls.
Lack of supervision for residents with dementia
Residents with cognitive impairment may not remember to ask for help, making supervision and monitoring critical.
Improper use of equipment
Walkers, wheelchairs, and mechanical lifts that are poorly fitted, broken, or used without enough staff can cause serious falls.
What we see
Injuries we handle
What you may recover
Compensation in a California claim
Medical and surgical costs
Emergency care, imaging, surgery, hospitalization, and rehabilitation following the fall.
Increased care needs
The cost of a higher level of care, additional therapy, equipment, or in-home assistance required because of the injury.
Pain and suffering
Compensation for the pain of fractures and surgery, the emotional distress of the fall, and the loss of mobility and independence.
Elder Abuse Act remedies
If the facility's failure to prevent the fall rises to reckless neglect, proven by clear and convincing evidence, attorney's fees and costs may be recoverable and certain damage limits relaxed.
Wrongful death damages
When a fall leads to a resident's death, whether directly or through complications, surviving family members may bring a wrongful death claim and the estate may pursue a survival action.
The rules that apply
California law you should know
Federal accident prevention requirements
Nursing homes participating in Medicare and Medicaid must keep the environment as free of accident hazards as possible and provide adequate supervision and assistance devices to prevent accidents.
42 C.F.R. Part 483
Neglect of elders and dependent adults
Failing to protect an elder or dependent adult from health and safety hazards is a form of neglect under California's Elder Abuse Act.
Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code §§ 15600 et seq., 15610.07
Residents' rights in skilled nursing facilities
Residents may bring a private action for violations of their rights and recover up to $500 per violation, plus attorney's fees and costs.
Cal. Health & Safety Code § 1430(b)
Enhanced remedies
When reckless neglect is proven by clear and convincing evidence, the court may award attorney's fees and costs, and certain survival damage limits are relaxed.
Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15657
General information, not legal advice. Deadlines and rules depend on the facts of your case, so talk to an attorney promptly.
Right now
Protect your claim
Evidence to gather
- Hospital records and imaging from after the fall
- Photos of the room, bed height, floor, and any equipment involved
- Records of prior falls or near-falls you were told about
- Care plans and fall risk assessments
- Medication lists, especially recent changes
- Names of staff on duty and anyone who found your loved one
- Notes of what the facility told you, including times and names
- Photos of visible injuries in the days after the fall
Mistakes insurers count on
- Accepting that the fall was unavoidable without reviewing the records
- Not asking whether there were prior falls or changes to the care plan
- Waiting to request records while memories fade and staff turn over
- Signing facility documents after the incident without understanding them
- Overlooking complications like pneumonia or clots that may be linked to the fall
Step by step
How we handle your case
- 1
Understand what the family was told
We start with your account of the fall, the injuries, and the facility's explanation, and we answer your questions about next steps.
- 2
Obtain the records
We request the chart, fall risk assessments, care plans, incident reports where obtainable, medication records, and hospital records.
- 3
Reconstruct the fall
We look at where and when the fall happened, who was on shift, whether call lights were answered, and what precautions were in place.
- 4
Evaluate the standard of care
We work with nursing and medical reviewers to determine whether the facility's prevention and response met required standards.
- 5
Pursue the claim
We present the claim to the facility and its insurer and are prepared to file suit if a fair resolution is not offered.
Straight answers
Frequently asked questions
No. Some falls happen even with good care. A facility may be responsible when it failed to assess fall risk, failed to follow or update the care plan, did not respond to call lights, lacked adequate staff, or ignored prior falls. The specific facts, especially what the facility knew beforehand, determine whether there is a claim.
Nursing Home & Elder Abuse