Alden Courts of Waterford Cited After Newly Admitted High-Risk Resident Falls Within 24 Hours, Suffering Fractured Femur and Subdural Hematoma

The Illinois Department of Health has cited and fined Alden Courts of Waterford when a newly admitted resident with a documented history of falls, dementia, and a pre-existing neck fracture was left without adequate supervision and fell within his first full day at the facility, sustaining a fractured femur and an acute subdural hematoma that required admission to the intensive care unit. The facility knew he was at high risk for falls from the moment he arrived, but failed to put individualized supervision measures in place to protect him.

The resident arrived at the facility late in the evening and came with a serious medical history: a recent neck fracture from a prior fall, dementia, and a documented history of falls. His admission paperwork flagged him as being at HIGH RISK for falls. Staff who were interviewed confirmed they were well aware of the protocols required for high fall risk residents — keeping them in the line of sight of staff, placing them in common areas when awake, and checking on them every fifteen to thirty minutes when in their rooms. The Assistant Director of Nursing acknowledged that he was agitated when she first met him and that “more frequent rounds could have been done.”

The care plan created after his admission listed generic fall prevention interventions — a low bed, a call light within reach, proper footwear, and a clutter-free environment. Significantly, the Baseline Care Plan identified no cognition problems — yet his cognitive assessment completed that same day showed his cognition was severely impaired. That contradiction meant the care plan failed to account for his actual condition and contained no individualized supervision plan and no increased rounding schedule. For a resident with severely impaired cognition, relying on a call light as a primary safeguard was particularly problematic, as there is a serious question whether he could reliably use one at all. A certified nursing aide who worked with him that day recalled that while his family was present, he was already attempting to get out of bed on his own. Staff toileted him and helped him back into bed — but made no move to bring him to a common area where he could be watched.

After his family left for the evening, the resident was left alone in his room. According to the ambulance report, staff checked on him around 9:00 PM and then did not return for approximately fifty minutes. When they did, they found him sitting on the floor at the foot of his bed. He told them immediately: “My leg is broken.” He was right. He was sent to the hospital by ambulance, where imaging showed a right femur fracture. He was also admitted to the intensive care unit with a diagnosis of acute subdural hematoma — a serious condition involving bleeding near the brain — consistent with the trauma of a fall.

The facility’s own fall management policy required staff to assess each resident’s individual risk factors and develop a care plan with goals and interventions tailored to those specific risks. Multiple staff members confirmed that the standard protocol for high fall risk residents required checks every fifteen minutes when in their rooms and placement in common areas when awake. None of that happened for this resident. The facility’s final incident report attributed the fall to the resident not using his call light and having poor safety awareness — effectively placing the blame on a man with severely impaired dementia for not following instructions he may well have been cognitively unable to follow. The state disagreed, finding instead that the facility failed to provide the supervision this resident’s condition clearly demanded.

One of our core beliefs is that nursing homes are built to fail due to the business model they follow and that unnecessary accidental injuries and wrongful deaths of nursing home residents are the inevitable result. Our experienced Illinois nursing home lawyers are ready to help you understand what happened, why, and what your rights are. Contact us to get the help you need.