Patient Files Lawsuit After Fall From Hospital Bed
A former patient of the West Boca Raton Medical Center filed a lawsuit against the hospital after she fell from her hospital bed. MichieHamlett settled a similar case in which a man who had recently been given the medication Ambien and was a fall risk fell from his bed, causing serious injury. Falls from hospital beds are tricky because they aren’t necessarily medical negligence lawsuits. They can be simple premises liability lawsuits, depending on which state you live in. Importantly, in Virginia, the decision to ensure a patient’s safety from potential falls is a decision made by medical staff. In these cases, it is typical for such lawsuits to be filed on the basis of medical negligence as opposed to simple negligence, especially when the fall accident victim is a patient who is under the hospital’s care.
What happened?
The patient presented to the medical center complaining of weakness, dizziness, and lethargy. According to the plaintiff, she was treated for dizziness and given sleep meds to help her sleep, but the sleep medication worsened her symptoms of weakness and lethargy. She was left unattended while on this medication and fell from her hospital bed, breaking her ankle. The plaintiff contends that the injury required surgery which lessened the strength of her ankle and continues to be an impediment. The plaintiff says that the nurses failed to follow hospital procedure after giving the patient the sleep medication, and this was the proximate cause of her fall injuries.
The hospital staff is further accused of mishandling the event after the fall. The nurses, the complaint states, failed to take the plaintiff’s vital signs, failed to provide post-fall monitoring, and did not so much as document that the fall ever occurred.
Hospital bed fall lawsuits
Essentially, a lawsuit like this contends that the hospital created the conditions in which a patient’s cognition was severely compromised by a medication that she was taking. As a result, the patient rolled out of bed, fell to the ground, and broke her ankle. Since the hospital gave her the medication to help her sleep and then failed to provide her with remedial intervention to prevent a fall, the hospital is responsible for the woman’s injuries. The manufacturer of her sleep medication would not be responsible since these side effects are known to the doctors and hospital staff. Ultimately, once they give out a medication, they are responsible for ensuring the safety of their patient. Since they didn’t, the plaintiff was injured and now the hospital could be held liable for her broken ankle, reduced employability, and pain and suffering damages.
Talk to a Roanoke, VA Medical Malpractice Attorney
Hospital bed falls are almost always the responsibility of the hospital to prevent. If you’ve been injured after falling from a hospital bed, call the Roanoke medical malpractice attorneys at MichieHamlett today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about how we can help.