A recent report on liability claims in the senior care sector show while there was a broad-based increase in the average cost of claims across all care settings since the 2018 Aging Services Claim Report, the average cost of claims in the assisted living setting exceeded that of skilled nursing facilities.

CNA’s Aging Services Claim Report: 11^th Edition included these key findings:

• There was broad-based increase in the average cost of claims (average total incurred) across all care settings since the 2018 Aging Services Claim Report.
• The average cost of claims in the assisted living setting ($267,174) continues to exceed that of skilled nursing facilities ($245,559) in the 2021 dataset.
• Resident falls and pressure injuries remain persistent risks in aging services settings, representing almost two-thirds of all claims in the 2021 dataset.
• The average cost of fall-related claims remains the highest in the assisted living setting.
• More than 59 percent of all fall-related closed claim allegations in the skilled nursing and assisted living settings involved a resident with a prior history of falls.
• Claims in which there was a history of a previous fall are more costly than those with no prior history.
• Dementia is a contributing factor in 72.9 percent of all assisted living fall-related closed claims.

Read the full report for more information including recommendations for risk management.