Nursing home professionals have a duty to provide a standard of care and quality of life to each patient under their care. When these duties are not fulfilled and a patient suffers a nursing home injury, the negligent nursing professional or facility can be held liable for resulting damages.  Nursing home injury cases caused by nursing malpractice are a widespread problem in the United States. In 2003, USA Today reported that half of all nursing home patients suffer from untreated pain. While this pain is not always a direct cause of nursing home abuse, nursing professionals do have a responsibility to treat any patient with a nursing home injury.  Federal government studies have indicated that at least thirty percent of the nursing homes in our nation have committed some form of negligence or malice that has caused nursing home injury to patients.  According to the CDC, a federal agency, each year, an average nursing home with 100 beds reports 100 to 200 falls.1 About 1,800 older adults living in nursing homes die each year from fall-related injuries. Those who experience non-fatal falls can suffer injuries, have difficulty getting around and have a reduced quality of life.  As many as 3 out of 4 nursing home residents fall each year, which is twice the rate of falls for older adults living in the community.  In 2001, a Congressional report revealed that 5,283 nursing homes - more than 30 percent of the 17,000 nursing homes nationwide - were cited for abuse violations from January 1999 through December 2000. Of the 9,000 violations reported, 1,600 were serious enough to directly harm residents or place them in immediate danger of injury or death.

The CDC gives the following explanation for why the rate of falls is so high: “Falling can be a sign of other health problems. People in nursing homes are generally more frail than older adults living in the community. They are generally older, have more chronic conditions, and have difficulty walking. They also tend to have problems with thinking or memory, to have difficulty with activities of daily living, and to need help getting around or taking care of themselves.  All of these factors are linked to falling.”

In response to this widespread occurrence of nursing home injury cases attributable to malpractice, the federal government passed a comprehensive law in 1987 called the Federal Nursing Home Care Reform Act (NHRA). This law created a minimum set of standards regarding the care and rights of people living in nursing home facilities. Under the provisions of the NHRA, nursing homes are required to provide certain services, such as periodic assessments and care plans for each elderly patient, nursing care, rehabilitation, food service, pharmacy service, and social services, including a full-time social worker in facilities with more than 120 patients.  The NHRA was developed in an effort to protect nursing home residents from incidents of abuse. It guarantees to residents of long-term care facilities the right to "a dignified existence, self-determination and communication", including protection in the following areas.  As a result of this law and the prevalence of nursing home injury cases, state agencies now conduct unannounced inspections and evaluations of nursing home facilities every nine to fifteen months.