Truck Accident Lawyer
Uber Accident Lawyer
Lyft Accident Lawyer
Knowledge, experience, and dedication have brought the lawyers of The Epstein Law Firm to the forefront of their profession. From personal injury to civil litigation, they have built a strong record of success in achieving justice for their clients.
Our practice is diverse and well-established. Recognizing that every case is unique, we always begin by listening to you.
The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. has been successfully representing clients throughout New Jersey since 1973
When the lack of supervision at a nursing home results in nursing home falls and injuries, the injured person is entitled to seek compensation. However, proving negligence can be difficult, so it is well advised to seek the help of qualified New Jersey nursing home fall injury lawyers. A fall is often written off as an unavoidable accident of old age, but many falls happen because a resident who was known to need help was left to walk, transfer, or reach a bathroom alone.
The Epstein Law Firm has more than 40 years of experience representing injured clients in nursing home falling injury and other accident claims. We know what evidence is required to build a strong case and persuade insurance companies to offer a fair settlement. Contact us to schedule a consultation with skilled nursing home slip and fall accident attorneys in Rochelle Park, NJ — we offer free initial consultations to discuss a possible claim.
This page explains why residents fall, what duties a facility owes the people in its care, what rights New Jersey law gives nursing home residents in general terms, the warning signs families should watch for, and the steps to take after a fall. It is general information for families, not a judgment about any particular facility, and the most useful first step is usually a careful look at the care plan and the records of the fall itself.
Falls are the most common serious safety event in long-term care, and their causes are usually a combination of a resident’s condition and the facility’s response to it. Residents may have weakness, balance problems, dementia, vision loss, or medication side effects such as dizziness and drowsiness. Those vulnerabilities are precisely why a person is in a nursing home rather than living alone, so a facility cannot treat them as a surprise when a fall occurs.
Legally, a nursing home cannot restrain nursing home residents just to ‘keep them put.’ Thus, it is important that nurses and staff carefully monitor residents to avoid them walking around and potentially falling and hurting themselves. In addition, staff members need to be properly trained in helping a resident get out of wheelchairs, climb in and out of bed, and assist with showers and other day-to-day tasks. Failure to have proper training can lead to someone essentially dropping a resident as they try to assist.
Environmental causes compound the risk: wet bathroom floors, cluttered hallways, poor lighting, missing or broken handrails, beds set too high, wheelchair footrests and brakes not set, and call bells placed out of reach or left unanswered. Understaffing ties these causes together, because a resident who waits too long for help will often try to get up alone. Unfortunately, negligence, understaffing, and improper training too often lead to nursing home falling injuries and accidental death.
A nursing home’s core duty is to assess each resident’s fall risk and to build and follow an individualized care plan that addresses it. That means evaluating mobility, cognition, medications, prior falls, and toileting needs on admission and after any change in condition; deciding what level of supervision and assistance that resident requires; providing assistive devices such as walkers, wheelchairs, bed and chair alarms, and lowered beds where appropriate; and making sure the plan is actually carried out on every shift, not only written in a chart.
The duty is ongoing. After any fall, the facility should evaluate the resident, document the circumstances, notify the physician and the family as its policies and the law require, and revise the care plan so the same fall does not repeat. A second fall in the same way as the first is often the strongest evidence in a case, because it shows the facility knew the risk and did not change anything effective in response.
Facilities also owe duties in hiring, training, and staffing: enough trained staff on each shift to answer call bells and assist with transfers, and supervision of aides performing physically demanding transfers. Where a fall is connected to a resident being allowed to wander without supervision, our page on wandering and elopement addresses that related risk, and our nursing home abuse hub explains how fall cases fit within the wider law of nursing home negligence.
The Epstein Law Firm
Nursing home abuse legal help
The Epstein Law Firm can review your nursing home abuse claim and explain the evidence, deadlines, and next steps that may apply.
Call now
New Jersey’s Nursing Home Residents’ Bill of Rights, at N.J.S.A. 30:13-1 and following sections, sets out rights every resident holds, in general terms including the right to a safe and decent living environment, to be treated with dignity, to participate in planning one’s own care, to have a guardian or family notified of changes in condition, and to voice grievances without retaliation. Federal law and regulation impose parallel requirements on facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid, including requirements about assessment, care planning, supervision, and accident hazards.
These rights matter in a fall case for two reasons. First, they define the standard the facility promised to meet, so a care plan that ignores a known fall risk is not merely unfortunate, it is inconsistent with the resident’s rights. Second, they give families standing to ask questions and receive information: you are not interfering by asking what happened, what the care plan required, and what has changed since. A facility that cannot answer those questions clearly has a problem independent of the fall itself.
Families researching a facility — whether after a fall or before a placement — can review inspection results and staffing information through Medicare’s Care Compare tool and New Jersey’s health-facility resources, both linked in the questions below. A facility’s history does not decide an individual claim, but a pattern of citations for supervision, accidents, or staffing is relevant context, and it is information every family is entitled to consider when deciding where a vulnerable relative should live.
Residents’ rights also cover related forms of neglect that often appear alongside falls, including bed sores and pressure ulcers from infrequent repositioning, malnutrition and dehydration, and, in the most serious cases, physical and sexual abuse. Finding one form of neglect during a fall investigation is a reason to look carefully for others, because they tend to share a cause in staffing and supervision.
Families often sense a problem before they can prove one. Warning signs include repeated unexplained bruises, a resident who seems fearful of particular staff members, call bells that go unanswered during your own visits, a loved one left in a wheelchair in a hallway for long stretches, frequent falls described vaguely as ‘found on the floor,’ weight loss, poor hygiene, and rooms or bathrooms that are consistently messy or unsafe. Staff who discourage questions or give shifting accounts of the same incident are a warning sign in themselves.
Such questions will begin our investigation into how the accident occurred and who is at fault. We also consider the extent of the injuries and long-term effects. Our nursing home slip and fall accident attorneys in New Jersey‘s goal is to achieve the best possible outcome for our clients and their families, and family observations — dated, specific, and written down — are frequently the evidence that connects a facility’s records to what actually happened on the floor.
A fall that a younger person would walk away from can be life-changing for an elderly resident. Hip and pelvis fractures are the most feared outcome and often require surgery, rehabilitation, and a lasting loss of mobility and independence. Falls also cause wrist, arm, and shoulder fractures, head injuries including subdural bleeding that may not be obvious immediately, cuts requiring stitches, spinal compression fractures, and a fear of walking that itself accelerates decline.
The consequences do not end with the fracture. Immobility during recovery raises the risk of pressure ulcers, pneumonia, blood clots, and infection, and a resident who was walking with assistance before a fall may never return to that level afterward. Any claim should be evaluated on that full picture — the injury, the treatment, and the permanent change in what the resident can do — rather than on the emergency-room visit alone, and medical follow-up after a fall should be insisted on even when a resident says they feel fine.
The Epstein Law Firm can review the evidence, insurance issues, and next steps that may matter in your nursing home abuse claim. A New Jersey nursing home abuse lawyer can explain how these claims are evaluated under New Jersey law.
A fall investigation looks for the records a facility creates in the ordinary course: the fall-risk assessment, the care plan in effect on the day of the fall, nursing notes and incident reports, staffing assignments, call-bell and alarm records where they exist, medication records, and any post-fall evaluation. Those records are compared against each other and against the family’s account; inconsistencies in timing, in who was present, or in what assistance the plan required are often where negligence becomes provable.
New Jersey generally allows two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit, and nursing home cases require expert review to establish how the care fell short and how that caused the injury, so they should not be left to the end of that period. Families can also report concerns to the state agencies that oversee long-term care facilities, which is a separate track from a civil claim and can be pursued alongside it. Records can be requested, and a facility’s obligation to keep them is another reason to act while memories and documents are intact.
Contact our New Jersey nursing home fall injury lawyers if your loved one suffered a broken hip, severe bruising, or other injuries in a fall at a long-term care facility. We offer free initial consultations to discuss your possible claim and legal options. In nursing home negligence-related matters, our fees may be recovered as a percentage of any settlement or award offered to our clients.
Many falls are set in motion by medication. Sedatives, sleep aids, certain blood-pressure medicines, and combinations of drugs can cause dizziness, confusion, and sudden drops in blood pressure when a resident stands. A facility that knows a resident has started a new medication, or takes several that affect balance, should treat the following days as a period of heightened risk, with closer observation and more assistance — and should ask the prescribing clinician to review whether every medication is still needed at its current dose.
Underlying conditions require the same active management. Residents recovering from surgery or infection, residents with dementia who cannot reliably remember to call for help, and residents with a history of falls all need plans that reflect those realities rather than a standard template. Telling a resident with dementia to ‘remember to use the call bell’ is not a plan; scheduled checks, toileting rounds, and placing the resident where staff can see them are. When a care plan relies on the resident doing the very thing their condition prevents, the plan itself is part of the negligence.
Repeat falls deserve special attention. National guidance on fall prevention treats a fall as a clinical event requiring a fresh assessment — of medications, vision, strength, footwear, environment, and supervision — not merely an entry in a chart. Facilities that respond to a first fall with genuine reassessment prevent many second falls. Facilities that respond with paperwork alone tend to generate the pattern families describe to us: the same resident, the same time of night, the same unwitnessed trip to the bathroom, and progressively worse injuries.
Our attorneys have recovered substantial verdicts and settlements for clients across New Jersey, including:
Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. What they do show is the level of preparation and persistence our firm brings to serious claims. Read more about our case results, or call (201) 231-7847 to talk about what your own claim may involve.
Client reviews describe the responsiveness and care our team aims to deliver in every case:
“This was a very stressful time for us and Mr. Morton helped alleviate a lot of the stress by making the process so smooth. He was responsive, considerate, and very accommodating of my father’s schedule, injury, and language barriers.” — Yoomin, Google review
“My case was very complicated and stressful. The Epstein Law Firm’s representation was truly a blessing. They made it easy to be confident and trusting in their judgment and efforts on my behalf. Michael Epstein and his colleagues worked hard for me and always had my best interest.” — Barbara, Google review
Read more from our clients on our Google reviews for the Rochelle Park office.
Tell The Epstein Law Firm what happened and get clear guidance about your injury claim and legal options.
Recognition applies to the named attorneys and selection years. See the linked profiles for details.
No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Rating methodology
The answers below are general information about falls in New Jersey nursing homes, not legal advice for a specific situation, because responsibility depends on the resident’s care plan, the facility’s staffing and supervision, and what the records show about the fall.
No. A fall alone does not prove negligence, because some falls occur even with proper care. A claim requires showing that the facility failed to assess the resident’s fall risk, failed to put reasonable precautions in the care plan, or failed to follow the plan it had — and that this failure caused the fall and the injuries.
That is why the records matter more than the outcome alone. A resident assessed as needing two-person assistance who fell while walking to the bathroom unassisted presents a very different case from a low-risk resident whose fall had no warning signs, and an investigation is how the two are told apart.
Sources: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Nursing Homes; National Institute on Aging on Falls and Fractures in Older Adults.
A facility should assess each resident’s fall risk on admission and whenever their condition changes, create an individualized care plan reflecting that risk, provide needed supervision and assistive devices, keep the environment free of hazards such as wet floors and clutter, and train staff in safe transfers. After any fall, it should evaluate the resident and revise the plan so the same fall does not recur.
Prevention is a system, not a single device. Bed alarms, lowered beds, and non-slip footwear help only if staffing levels let someone respond in time, so a facility that installs equipment but leaves call bells unanswered has not met the substance of its duty.
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Older Adult Falls; Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Nursing Homes.
Generally, no — not simply to keep a resident in place. Physical restraints are heavily restricted under state and federal standards and are permitted only in narrow circumstances, because restraints themselves cause injury, decline, and loss of dignity. A facility may not substitute restraint for the supervision and assistance the resident’s care plan requires.
The lawful alternative to restraint is the harder work of prevention: supervision, scheduled toileting, alarms that are answered, strength and balance support, and medication review. If you learn a loved one is being restrained routinely, ask what clinical justification is documented and raise the question promptly with the facility and, if needed, with regulators.
Sources: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Nursing Homes; New Jersey Department of Health Health Facilities Information.
New Jersey’s Nursing Home Residents’ Bill of Rights gives residents, in general terms, rights to a safe environment, dignified treatment, participation in planning their own care, notification of a guardian or family about significant changes in condition, and the ability to raise grievances without retaliation. Federal standards for Medicare and Medicaid facilities add requirements on assessment, care planning, and accident prevention.
In practical terms, those rights entitle families to straight answers: what happened, what the care plan required, what treatment followed, and what has changed. Put questions in writing, keep the answers, and note names and dates, because that paper trail is useful both for the resident’s ongoing care and for any claim.
Sources: New Jersey Department of Health Health Facilities Information; Administration for Community Living: Long-Term Care Resources.
Make sure your loved one is medically evaluated, including for head injury and fractures that may not be immediately obvious, and insist on follow-up if their condition changes over the next days. Ask the facility, in writing, what happened, who was present, what assistance the care plan required, and what will change, and photograph visible injuries and the room or area where the fall occurred if you are able.
Then keep your own dated notes of every conversation and observation, and request copies of records you are entitled to. Early advice from a lawyer helps preserve staffing and incident records and ensures deadlines are tracked, and it costs nothing to ask for an initial assessment of the situation.
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Older Adult Falls; National Institute on Aging on Falls and Fractures in Older Adults.
Proof comes from comparing what the facility said it would do with what it did: the fall-risk assessment, the care plan, nursing and incident notes, staffing assignments, and medication records, reviewed with expert support on the standard of care. A prior similar fall with no effective change to the plan is often powerful evidence, as are records that contradict the account given to the family.
Expert review is normally required in New Jersey professional negligence cases, and facilities are experienced at defending these claims. Building the record early — before memories fade and while documents are complete — materially affects how clearly that comparison can be made.
Sources: New Jersey Courts Civil Division Information; Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Nursing Homes.
A claim can address the full consequences of a negligent fall: fractures such as a broken hip, head injuries, surgery and rehabilitation, pain and suffering, loss of mobility and independence, and the complications that follow immobility, including pressure ulcers and infection. Where a fall causes death, the family may have a wrongful death claim under New Jersey law.
Evaluation should wait until the medical picture is reasonably clear, because the largest loss is often not the initial fracture but the permanent decline that follows it. Keep records of the resident’s abilities before the fall — walking, dressing, participating in activities — since that baseline is how the change is proven.
Sources: National Institute on Aging on Falls and Fractures in Older Adults; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Older Adult Falls.
New Jersey generally allows two years from the date of the injury to file a personal injury lawsuit, and a wrongful death claim generally runs two years from the date of death. Those periods can be affected by the facts, and expert review must be completed before filing, which takes time of its own.
Families understandably focus first on care, transfers, and recovery, but records requests and investigation should begin well inside that window. Reporting concerns to the state oversight agencies is separate from a lawsuit and does not extend the civil filing deadline, so the two tracks should not be confused.
Sources: New Jersey Courts Civil Division Information; New Jersey Department of Health Health Facilities Information.
‘Unavoidable’ is a conclusion, not an explanation, and it should be tested against the records. A genuinely unavoidable fall is one that occurs despite an accurate risk assessment, a reasonable care plan, and staff actually following that plan. Falls following missed assessments, unanswered call bells, understaffed shifts, or a repeated pattern the facility did not address do not fit that description.
Ask what precautions were in place for this resident, on this shift, and what changed afterward. If the answers are vague or the records do not match the explanation, that gap is itself significant, and it is a common reason families seek an independent review of a fall.
Sources: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Nursing Homes; Medicare.gov Nursing Home Care Compare Information.
Yes, families can pursue a transfer, and a serious fall is a legitimate reason to consider one. Residents have rights regarding discharge and transfer, and a facility may not retaliate against a resident or family for raising concerns or pursuing a claim. Practical steps include researching alternatives, checking inspection and staffing information, and coordinating the move so care is not interrupted.
A transfer does not end a claim for the fall that already happened, and it does not require you to withdraw a complaint. Document conditions before the move with dated photographs and notes, and keep the records from both facilities, because the comparison often clarifies what adequate care looks like.
Sources: Medicare.gov Nursing Home Care Compare Information; Administration for Community Living: Long-Term Care Resources.
$31,000,000
$13,585,000
*Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances. *No aspect of the advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court. View Rating Methodology
Δ
<span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span>
340 West Passaic Street Rochelle Park, NJ 07662
Fax: 201-845-5973 201-231-7847
Map + Directions
560 Sylvan Avenue, Suite 1000-A Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 (By Appointment Only)
201-734-3763
Map + directions
18-20 Lackawanna Plaza, Suite 200 Montclair, NJ 07042 (By Appointment Only)
973-381-8410
