When a loved one falls in a Queens nursing home, the first thought is usually that it was an accident. Most of the time, it wasn't. Nursing home falls are usually the result of understaffing, ignored risk assessments, and care plans that were never updated. If someone you care about was hurt in a nursing home fall, a Queens nursing home falls lawyer at The Orlow Firm can help you figure out whether the facility is to blame.
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What's in this video?
The Orlow Firm's attorneys discuss how they help families whose loved ones have been injured in nursing home accidents, including falls, in Queens and throughout New York City.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about half of all nursing home residents fall at least once a year. The average nursing home patient falls 2.6 times per year. Roughly 1,800 elderly residents die from fall injuries in nursing facilities across the country each year.
What makes these numbers worse is that the law requires nursing homes to do more than respond to falls — they must prevent them. Federal and New York State rules require facilities to assess every resident's fall risk, create individual care plans, and put specific protections in place for high-risk residents. When nursing homes skip these steps or ignore what they already know, a fall that injures your loved one may be grounds for a legal claim.
Our attorneys have worked with Queens families from our office at 71-18 Main Street in Flushing since 1982. We know these facilities, we know the legal standards they must meet, and we know how to investigate when those standards aren't followed.
Why Falls in Queens Nursing Homes Are Often Negligence, Not Accidents
The legal test for nursing home fall liability is straightforward: Did the facility assess your loved one's fall risk? Did it create a care plan to address that risk? Did it carry out the plan — and update it when things changed? If the answer to any of these questions is no, the nursing home likely failed its legal duty.
Federal rules under 42 CFR § 483.25(h) require every Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing home to keep the environment "as free of accident hazards as is possible" and to provide "adequate supervision and assistive devices" to prevent accidents. State and federal inspectors use this standard when citing facilities for deficiencies.
Our analysis of CMS Medicare Nursing Home Compare data for all 56 Queens nursing homes found 330 total health deficiencies — an average of 5.9 per facility. Seven Queens nursing homes hold 1-star ratings, the lowest federal quality designation. In Far Rockaway alone, five of the neighborhood's 11 nursing homes are rated just 1 star.
Real cases from Queens show the pattern. Cypress Garden Center in Flushing was cited after inspectors found a bed alarm was not in use before a resident fell — and staff couldn't explain why records only showed it being activated after the fall. West Lawrence Care Center in Far Rockaway was cited after a resident who reported falling was returned to bed without supervisors or the facility's doctor being called. When a resident falls repeatedly and the care plan never changes, that is direct evidence the nursing home didn't do its job.
What's in this video?
The Orlow Firm attorneys explain when a nursing home can be held legally responsible for a resident's fall, and what families should know about establishing nursing home liability.
Common Causes of Falls in Queens Nursing Homes
Understanding what caused a nursing home fall is the first step in determining whether the facility is responsible.
Understaffing and high staff turnover — Our analysis of CMS data shows Queens nursing homes average 31.1% overall staff turnover and 38.7% registered nurse turnover, the highest RN turnover rate of any NYC borough. Only two of 56 Queens facilities achieve a 5-star staffing rating. Without enough trained staff on the floor, high-risk residents don't get the monitoring and help they need.
No care plan update after a prior fall — Federal rules require nursing homes to reassess risk and revise care plans after each fall. If your loved one fell more than once with no documented changes, that's direct evidence the facility ignored the warning.
Environmental hazards — Wet floors, poor lighting, cluttered hallways, and beds set too high are preventable. When a nursing home is aware of these conditions and does nothing, it's responsible for whatever happens.
Medication errors — Many common medications, including blood pressure drugs, sleep aids, and sedatives, raise fall risk. Nursing homes are responsible for monitoring these effects and adjusting care plans as needed.
Failure to use prescribed assistive devices — When a care plan requires a walker or grab bar and staff don't provide it, any resulting fall goes back to the facility.
Insufficient supervision during high-risk periods — Falls happen most often during shift changes, mealtimes, and overnight when staffing is thinnest. A facility that routinely understaffs these windows creates foreseeable danger.
Missing or disabled bed alarms — For residents who try to get out of bed unassisted, bed and chair alarms are a basic precaution. Finding that an alarm was absent or turned off before a known-risk resident fell is a serious red flag.
Queens Nursing Home Quality: Where Fall Risk Is Higher
Not all nursing homes in Queens carry the same risk. Our analysis of CMS Medicare Nursing Home Compare records for all 56 Queens facilities reveals a clear geographic pattern.
Far Rockaway is Queens' most troubled nursing home zone. The neighborhood's 11 facilities average just 2.0 overall stars — 1.3 stars below the Queens borough average of 3.32 — and together have 105 total health deficiencies. Five of those 11 facilities hold 1-star ratings. Neighboring Arverne adds three more facilities averaging 2.3 stars. Across the Rockaway Peninsula, 14 nursing homes average just 2.1 stars.
Queens leads all five NYC boroughs in total CMS-imposed fines: $914,247 across 15 fined facilities. The largest single fine in Queens was $306,240, levied against Windsor Park Rehab & Nursing Center in Queens Village.
For-profit facilities make up 83.9% of Queens nursing homes and average 3.19 overall stars. The borough's eight non-profit facilities average 4.00 stars. All seven of Queens' 1-star homes are for-profit operations.
These numbers don't predict any individual resident's experience. But they reflect real patterns of understaffing and regulatory failures that create the conditions where preventable falls happen.
Statistics in this section are from CMS Medicare Nursing Home Compare data analyzed by The Orlow Firm (inspections through September 2025).
View text version of this infographic
Queens Nursing Home Quality: Key Risk Indicators
- 56 nursing homes in Queens (most of any NYC borough)
- 7 facilities hold 1-star ratings (the lowest federal quality designation)
- $914,247 total CMS fines — highest of any NYC borough
- 38.7% RN turnover — highest in NYC
Average Star Rating by Queens Neighborhood:
- Far Rockaway: 2.0 stars
- Arverne: 2.3 stars
- Corona: 2.5 stars
- Flushing: 3.7 stars
- Jamaica: 4.0 stars
- Forest Hills: 4.3 stars
Ownership vs. Quality:
- For-profit homes (83.9% of Queens facilities): average 3.19 stars
- Non-profit homes (14.3% of Queens facilities): average 4.00 stars
- All 7 of Queens' lowest-rated (1-star) nursing homes are for-profit operations.
Source: CMS Medicare Nursing Home Compare data analyzed by The Orlow Firm. 56 Queens facilities. Inspections through September 2025.
Injuries Caused by Nursing Home Falls — and Why They Are So Serious
For elderly residents, a single fall can start a chain of health problems that permanently changes their life.
Hip fractures are the most common serious fall injury in nursing homes. Surgery carries real risks for older patients, and studies show up to 20% of older adults who fracture a hip die within one year — rates are even higher for nursing home residents. Recovery is long, painful, and often incomplete.
Traumatic brain injuries are easy to miss after a nursing home fall. A head strike — even one that causes no immediate obvious symptoms — can produce a subdural hematoma, a slow bleed that may not become apparent for hours or days. Any fall involving head contact needs prompt neurological evaluation.
Spinal and vertebral fractures are especially dangerous for residents with osteoporosis, which is common among older women. These injuries may not cause dramatic immediate symptoms, but they can lead to chronic pain, nerve damage, and loss of mobility.
Shoulder, wrist, and arm fractures often happen when a resident tries to break a fall. These injuries limit independence for a long time.
Fear of falling again is a consequence that often outlasts the physical injuries. This fear leads many residents to stop moving, avoid social contact, and decline faster — all of which compound the original harm.
New York Laws That Protect Nursing Home Fall Victims in Queens
Several overlapping legal frameworks give fall victims and their families real rights to compensation.
Federal Regulations: 42 CFR § 483.25(h)
Federal nursing home rules require facilities to keep environments free from accident hazards and to provide adequate supervision and assistive devices. These requirements apply to every Medicare- and Medicaid-certified facility in Queens. A regulatory citation tied to accidents and supervision — especially one connected to a specific fall — is strong evidence of negligence in a civil case.
New York Public Health Law § 2801-d
This statute is one of the strongest tools available to nursing home fall victims in New York. Under PHL § 2801-d, any nursing home that deprives a resident of a right or benefit established by law is liable for resulting injuries. Minimum damages are set at 25% of the daily per-patient rate for each day the injury persists. When the deprivation was willful or in reckless disregard of resident rights, punitive damages may also be awarded. This claim runs alongside a standard negligence case, not instead of it. (NY PHL § 2801-d: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBH/2801-D)
New York Public Health Law § 2803-c
Section 2803-c sets out specific residents' rights in New York nursing homes, including the right to receive care that meets accepted standards. Violations of these rights are independently actionable under § 2801-d.
10 NYCRR Part 415
New York's own nursing home regulations require facilities to provide care enabling each resident to achieve their "highest practicable" physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being — a standard that covers fall prevention.
Statute of Limitations
The deadline to file depends on the type of claim. A personal injury or negligence claim must be filed within three years of the fall (NY CPLR § 214). A wrongful death claim must be filed within two years of death (NY EPTL § 5-4.1). For medical malpractice, a 2.5-year limit may apply (NY CPLR § 214-a). These deadlines don't pause while a family focuses on recovery — consulting an attorney early protects the right to file.
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New York Legal Deadlines: Nursing Home Fall Claims
Starting from the fall date (or date of death for wrongful death claims):
- 2 years — Wrongful death claim (deadline runs from date of death)
- 2.5 years — Medical malpractice wrongful death
- 3 years — Personal injury / negligence claim (deadline runs from date of fall)
These deadlines don't pause while your family focuses on recovery. Call (646) 647-3398 as soon as possible.
Source: NY CPLR § 214; NYCourts.gov Statute of Limitations Chart.
What to Do If Your Loved One Fell in a Queens Nursing Home
The steps you take in the days after a nursing home fall protect your loved one's health and preserve the evidence for a legal claim.
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Get independent medical care immediately. Don't rely only on the nursing home's doctors. If there's any chance of head injury, insist on an evaluation at an emergency department — Elmhurst Hospital or Jamaica Hospital Medical Center are both nearby.
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Ask for the incident report in writing. New York law requires nursing homes to document and report falls. You're entitled to that report.
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Request the fall risk assessment and care plan. These show whether the facility identified your loved one as high-risk and what steps it was supposed to take.
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Photograph the area where the fall happened. If there were hazards — a wet floor, poor lighting, clutter — photograph them before anything is cleaned up or moved.
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Hold on to all records. Ask for medical records, staffing logs from the shift when the fall occurred, and any prior incident reports involving your loved one.
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Don't sign anything from the nursing home. An apology is not a settlement. Don't sign any document presented by the facility without talking to an attorney first.
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Call The Orlow Firm. Call us at (646) 647-3398 for a free consultation. We'll look at the facility's records, review whether a care plan was in place, and tell you what we find. We can come to you if your loved one is hospitalized.
View text version of this infographic
What to Do After a Nursing Home Fall in Queens — 7 Steps:
- Get independent medical care — Don't rely on the nursing home's doctors. Go to an ER for any head injury.
- Request the incident report — NY law requires nursing homes to document falls. Get this in writing.
- Request the care plan and risk assessment — These show what the facility knew and what it was supposed to do.
- Photograph the scene — Capture any hazards (wet floor, poor lighting, cluttered path) before cleanup.
- Preserve all records — Medical records, prior incident reports, staffing logs from the shift.
- Don't sign anything from the facility — An apology is not a settlement. Consult an attorney before signing.
- Call The Orlow Firm — Free consultation. No fee unless we win. We can come to you.
Call (646) 647-3398 — Free Consultation | Se Habla Español
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The Orlow Firm's attorneys explain the steps families should take immediately upon suspecting nursing home abuse or neglect, including how to report concerns and when to consult an attorney.
Compensation You Can Recover
Economic Damages
- Medical bills from the fall — emergency care, surgery, hospitalization, and rehabilitation
- Ongoing and future medical costs if the fall caused lasting injury
- Costs of moving your loved one to a safer facility
- Funeral and burial expenses in wrongful death cases
Non-Economic Damages
- Pain and suffering, physical and emotional
- Fear of falling and loss of independence
- Reduced quality of life
- Loss of companionship in wrongful death cases (pecuniary losses)
Punitive Damages
Under NY PHL § 2801-d, if the nursing home's failure was willful or showed reckless disregard for your loved one's rights, a court may award punitive damages on top of compensatory damages. This gives families real legal weight, particularly when a facility knew about fall risk and did nothing.
The Orlow Firm handles all nursing home fall cases on contingency — you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.
Our Results in Fall and Premises Injury Cases
$2,875,000 — A legally blind man fell 16 feet into an open elevator shaft, suffering serious back and heel injuries requiring surgery.
$2,750,000 — A building worker fell through a floor hole, sustaining neck and back injuries requiring three surgeries.
$2,750,000 — Siblings who suffered neglect and abuse while in residential care, showing our commitment to protecting vulnerable individuals in institutional settings.
$1,500,000 — A client who fell on a badly damaged sidewalk, suffering back and ankle injuries requiring surgery.
$800,000 — A client who slipped on water from a roof leak, suffering neck and back injuries requiring surgery.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Frequently Asked Questions About Queens Nursing Home Falls
Can a nursing home be sued if a resident falls more than once?
Yes, and repeated falls without care plan changes are among the strongest evidence of negligence. Federal regulations require nursing homes to reassess risk and modify interventions after each fall. If your loved one fell multiple times and the facility's response didn't change, that pattern directly supports a claim.
What if my loved one cannot speak for themselves after the fall?
A family member or legal guardian can bring a personal injury claim on behalf of an incapacitated nursing home resident. If the resident has died, the personal representative of the estate files a wrongful death claim. An attorney can help determine who has the legal authority to act.
Does New York's comparative negligence rule affect nursing home fall cases?
New York follows a pure comparative fault system. Your loved one's recovery is reduced — but not wiped out — by any percentage of fault attributed to them. Even if a resident partly contributed to their fall, the nursing home is still liable for its share of the harm. Contributory fault is a common defense in these cases.
How do I know if the nursing home was at fault or if the fall was unavoidable?
The key question is whether the nursing home did its job: Was a risk assessment done? Was there a care plan with real interventions? Were those interventions carried out and updated? If the answer to any of these is no, the fall was probably preventable. An attorney can obtain the records needed to answer these questions.
What if the nursing home says my loved one refused to use a walker?
A resident's refusal doesn't automatically let a nursing home off the hook. Facilities must document refusals and try alternative approaches. If the nursing home took no follow-up steps or the refusal isn't documented, this defense is weak.
Is there a time limit to file a nursing home fall lawsuit in Queens?
For a personal injury claim, the deadline is three years from the fall date. For wrongful death, it's two years from the date of death. For medical malpractice, a 2.5-year limit applies. These deadlines run even while a family is focused on recovery — contact a Queens nursing home falls lawyer as soon as possible to protect your rights.
Can I report the nursing home to the state and also file a lawsuit?
Yes. Filing a complaint with the NY State Department of Health Nursing Home Complaint Hotline (1-888-201-4563) and filing a civil lawsuit are independent processes. A state investigation can produce useful evidence for your case.
What if the nursing home apologized — does that affect my claim?
An apology doesn't waive your rights and isn't an admission of liability under New York law. Don't treat it as a settlement offer. Don't sign anything connected to an apology without speaking to an attorney first.
Contact a Queens Nursing Home Falls Lawyer Today
If your loved one was hurt in a fall at a Queens nursing home, The Orlow Firm is here to help. We've served families in Flushing, Jamaica, Forest Hills, Astoria, Corona, and across Queens from our Main Street office for over 40 years. Adam Orlow, former President of the Queens County Bar Association (2022-2023), and Steven Orlow, who has 40 years of personal injury experience, handle cases personally. You won't be passed off to a junior associate.
Call (646) 647-3398 for a free consultation. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.
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What's in this video?
The Orlow Firm's attorneys explain the warning signs of nursing home neglect, including dehydration and other indicators that a loved one may not be receiving adequate care.
Sources & Official Resources
Federal Regulations
New York State Laws
- NY Public Health Law § 2801-d — Private Right of Action for Nursing Home Residents
- NY Public Health Law § 2803-c — Rights of Patients in Nursing Homes
- NY CPLR § 214 — Statute of Limitations: Personal Injury (3 Years)
- NY CPLR § 214-a — Statute of Limitations: Medical Malpractice (2.5 Years)
- NY EPTL § 5-4.1 — Wrongful Death Action: 2-Year Limit
Statistics
Helpful Resources
- NY State DOH Nursing Home Complaint Hotline — 1-888-201-4563
- CMS Medicare Nursing Home Compare Provider Data
Data Methodology Borough and neighborhood breakdowns cited in this page were calculated by The Orlow Firm's research team from publicly available CMS Medicare Nursing Home Compare provider data (dataset 4pq5-n9py). Individual facility records were filtered and aggregated by Queens zip codes to produce the Queens-specific statistics cited above. CMS does not publish pre-calculated borough-level summaries of ratings, staffing, deficiencies, or fines; the aggregations are our own. Data reflects inspection surveys conducted through September 2025.
