But there are several ways that residents get injured in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. One of the more common types of injuries are falls with fractures. There can be very serious injuries including death that happen due to preventable fall incidents. Falls often occur when a resident is transferring from their bed to a wheelchair or from a wheelchair to the toilet. They can also occur when a resident is being transferred by a mechanical lift or walking with staff using a gate belt.

Many falls occur due to a lack of properly staffed facilities. Residents must receive care in accordance with their care plan which can include multiple aides involved in transfers. The facility needs to have enough well trained staff present at all times to provide all the necessary foreseeable cares for the residents. When staff try to rush or transfer an individual with less than the required minimum number of staff to do so safely serious injuries can occur.