Numerous elderly residents in nursing homes are prescribed blood thinners such as Coumadin to treat conditions such as deep vein thrombosis and prevent strokes. While these anti-coagulant medications can provide considerable medical benefits, their regular use by the elderly can also introduce certain unforeseen dangers.
As many people are aware, the risk of falls is the primary safety issue for elderly residents in nursing homes. When an older person falls, they can suffer serious bone fractures – usually to the hip – or head trauma upon impact with the ground. These types of injuries can be made considerably worse in the event that a patient has been taking blood thinners, as their blood will be unable to clot and stop the bleeding.
Since broken hips almost always require surgery to be corrected, doctors are then forced to wait until the blood thinners have completely cleared from a person’s body before operating. Otherwise, the patient would likely bleed to death on the operating table. Blood thinners can cause head trauma from falls to result in serious internal bleeds, causing blood to pool within the skull and damage the surrounding tissues. The more blood that accumulates, the higher the risk of death.
While certain medicines designed to quickly reverse the effects of blood thinners do exist, many of them are still in development and are inaccessible to members of the public. If your loved one is taking blood thinners and is in a nursing home, it is imperative that nursing home staff take extra precautions against falls and monitor your loved one’s dosage carefully.
Nursing Home Abuse Attorney
If your loved one has suffered a fall in a nursing home, you may have grounds to seek compensation on their behalf from the responsible parties. At the Law Office of James R. Snell, our knowledgeable Columbia personal injury lawyer is highly skilled in the areas of both nursing malpractice and nursing home negligence and can provide the strong support you need in your pursuit of justice.
Get a “Superb” Avvo Rated attorney on your side today – call (803) 932-6117.