Care Home Fall Claim UK

Why Care Home Falls Lead to Compensation Claims

Care homes owe a legal duty of care to every resident. This duty requires the home to take reasonable steps to keep residents safe, including from foreseeable falls. When a home fails to meet that standard and a resident is injured as a result, the home is liable in negligence.

Falls are among the most common injuries in residential and nursing care settings, particularly affecting older residents with reduced mobility, cognitive impairment, or conditions such as dementia. While not every fall amounts to negligence, many do. The key question is whether the home took reasonable precautions based on what it knew or should have known about the resident's condition and risk profile.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) sets fundamental standards that all registered care providers in England must meet. These standards, underpinned by the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations, require providers to assess risks to each resident and act on those assessments. A care home that fails to carry out an adequate falls risk assessment, or that identifies risks but does nothing about them, is likely breaching both its regulatory obligations and its common law duty of care.

Common Causes of Negligent Falls in Care Homes

Not all falls in a care home are the result of negligence. Elderly residents may fall for reasons entirely beyond the home's control. However, the following circumstances often point to a breach of the home's duty of care:

• No falls risk assessment or an outdated one: every resident should be assessed on admission and reassessed after any change in condition. A home that skips or neglects this step is failing a basic regulatory requirement.
• Missing or removed equipment: bed rails, crash mats, walking frames, hoists, and non-slip footwear should be provided where the risk assessment identifies a need. Removing bed rails without a documented clinical reason is a frequent source of claims.
• Inadequate staffing or supervision: if a resident needs help to move around and there are not enough staff to assist, the home is putting that resident at foreseeable risk.
• Environmental hazards: wet floors without warning signs, trailing cables, poor lighting, loose carpets, and cluttered corridors all create preventable fall risks.
• Failure to act on previous falls: once a resident has fallen, the home should review and tighten its care plan. Repeated falls without any adjustment to the care plan strongly suggest negligence.
• Medication errors: certain medications cause dizziness, drowsiness, or low blood pressure. If the home fails to monitor a resident's reaction to medication or ignores side effects that increase fall risk, this can form part of a claim.

Who Can Make a Care Home Fall Claim?

The injured resident is the primary claimant. If the resident has mental capacity, they bring the claim in their own name, usually through a solicitor acting on a no-win-no-fee conditional fee agreement (CFA).

Where the resident lacks mental capacity to conduct litigation, a litigation friend can bring the claim on their behalf. A litigation friend is typically a close family member, such as a spouse, adult child, or sibling, who acts in the resident's best interests. In some cases a professional deputy or the Official Solicitor may take on this role.

An important point for families: if the resident lacks capacity, the standard three-year limitation period is suspended. The clock does not start running until the resident either regains capacity or passes away. This means claims can be brought years after the fall in cases involving residents with dementia or other conditions affecting capacity.

If the resident has sadly died as a result of a fall, a dependency claim under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 or a claim on behalf of the estate under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934 may be possible. The family should seek specialist legal advice promptly in these circumstances.

What Compensation Covers: General and Special Damages

Compensation in a care home fall claim is split into two categories.

General damages compensate for pain, suffering, and loss of amenity. Courts and insurers refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) when placing a value on injuries. The JCG sets out bracket ranges organised by injury type and severity. Where an individual claim sits within a bracket depends on factors such as the nature of the fracture or soft-tissue injury, the length and completeness of recovery, any lasting disability, and the effect on the resident's quality of life and independence.

For older residents, even injuries that might heal well in a younger person can have devastating consequences. A hip fracture in an 85-year-old often leads to permanent loss of independent mobility, increased dependence on care, and a measurable reduction in life expectancy. These factors push the valuation higher within the applicable JCG bracket.

Special damages cover the actual financial losses caused by the fall. In care home claims, typical heads of special damage include:

• Additional private care or nursing costs arising from the injury
• Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and other rehabilitation expenses
• Cost of equipment such as wheelchairs, specialist seating, or mobility aids
• Travel costs for hospital appointments and family visits related to the injury
• The cost of moving to a higher-dependency care setting if the resident's needs have increased
• Costs of adapting the resident's living environment

All special damages must be evidenced with receipts, invoices, or other documentation. Keeping a record from the outset is strongly advisable.

Factors That Affect How Much Compensation Is Awarded

Every care home fall claim is valued individually. No two cases produce the same figure. However, several factors consistently influence the outcome:

• Severity of injury: a minor bruise that resolves in weeks attracts far less than a fractured hip requiring surgery and ongoing rehabilitation.
• Prognosis: an injury with a full expected recovery is worth less than one that leaves permanent pain or disability.
• Impact on independence: if the fall has moved the resident from low-dependency to high-dependency care, or from residential to nursing care, this significantly increases the claim's value.
• Pre-existing conditions: the defendant takes the claimant as they find them (the so-called 'eggshell skull' rule). If a resident had brittle bones and suffered a worse fracture than a healthy person would have, the home is liable for the full extent of that injury. However, the court may consider whether some deterioration would have occurred in any event.
• Contributory negligence: if the resident did something that contributed to the fall, such as refusing to use a walking aid despite repeated advice, compensation may be reduced by a percentage reflecting their share of responsibility. This is less common in care home cases than in, say, road traffic claims, because residents are often vulnerable and reliant on the home's care.
• Quality of evidence: contemporaneous records, CCTV footage, CQC inspection reports, and the home's own incident logs all strengthen a claim. Conversely, missing or incomplete records can work against either side.

Time Limits for Making a Claim

The standard limitation period for personal injury claims in England and Wales is three years from the date of the accident, or three years from the 'date of knowledge' if later. The date of knowledge is the point at which the claimant first knew (or should reasonably have known) that their injury was significant and was attributable to the care home's negligence.

Two important exceptions apply in care home fall cases:

• Lack of mental capacity: if the resident lacks the mental capacity to conduct litigation (for example, due to dementia), the limitation period does not run. There is no deadline for bringing the claim while the person remains without capacity. If capacity is never regained, a litigation friend can bring the claim at any point during the resident's lifetime or, after death, within three years of the date of death.
• Death of the resident: if the resident dies, a claim on behalf of the estate or a dependency claim must generally be brought within three years of the date of death.

Despite these extensions, starting early is always better. Memories fade, staff leave, care records may be lost or destroyed, and CCTV footage is routinely overwritten. The sooner evidence is gathered and preserved, the stronger the claim.

How a No-Win-No-Fee Agreement Works

Most solicitors handle care home fall claims through a conditional fee agreement (CFA), commonly called no-win-no-fee. Under a CFA, the solicitor agrees not to charge you legal fees if the claim is unsuccessful. If the claim succeeds, the solicitor charges a success fee on top of their normal costs. This success fee is capped by law at 25 per cent of the compensation awarded for general damages and past financial losses.

You will also typically need after-the-event (ATE) insurance. This policy covers the risk of having to pay the defendant's legal costs if the claim fails. The premium is usually deferred and only becomes payable from your compensation if you win.

Before entering into a CFA, make sure you understand what deductions will be made from your compensation. A responsible solicitor will explain these clearly at the outset, giving you a realistic picture of your likely net recovery.

Families acting as litigation friend for a resident who lacks capacity should be aware that the court will need to approve any settlement to ensure it is in the resident's best interests. The compensation is then typically managed through a personal injury trust or by a court-appointed deputy.

Gathering Evidence for a Care Home Fall Claim

Strong evidence is the foundation of any successful claim. If a resident has fallen in a care home and you suspect negligence, the following steps can help preserve key evidence:

• Request the care records: the resident (or their representative) has a legal right to access their care records, including risk assessments, care plans, daily notes, medication charts, and incident or accident reports. Make this request in writing as soon as possible.
• Ask about CCTV: many care homes have CCTV in communal areas. Footage is often deleted after a short period, so request its preservation in writing immediately.
• Photograph injuries: take clear photographs of any visible injuries as soon as they are noticed and at intervals during recovery.
• Keep a diary: note down the date and time of the fall, what was said by staff, and any changes in the resident's condition afterwards.
• Check CQC reports: CQC inspection reports are publicly available and may reveal a history of concerns about falls, staffing levels, or safety at the home. These reports can be powerful supporting evidence.
• Obtain medical records: hospital records from any A&E visit, GP notes, and any specialist reports will help establish the nature and severity of the injury.

Your solicitor will also instruct an independent medical expert to examine the resident and prepare a report on the injury, its cause, prognosis, and any ongoing care needs.

This page provides general information only and does not constitute legal advice; consult a qualified solicitor about your specific situation.

Frequently asked questions