In Montgomery County and across Maryland, long-term care facilities are expected to follow established standards for resident safety—especially for residents with mobility limitations, cognitive impairment, or balance problems.
Falls can become legally significant when the facility knew (or should have known) a resident was at risk and didn’t implement appropriate safeguards, such as:
- a care plan aligned with the resident’s transfer and toileting needs
- timely assistance when a resident attempts to move
- safe mobility equipment and properly maintained assistive devices
- appropriate monitoring after high-risk events (like head impact)
In practice, families in Gaithersburg often tell us the hardest part is that the facility’s explanation doesn’t match what the records later suggest—missing details in incident reports, delayed documentation, or inconsistent timelines.


