Patient Seriously Injured After Falling Out of Hospital Bed: $550,000 Settlement

By Bailey & Greer, PLLC | January 22, 2015

In this case, we represented the family of an elderly patient who had been admitted to a Memphis, Tennessee hospital due to complications from congestive heart failure. The patient’s lower extremities were weak and she could not walk without assistance. The patient was given powerful drugs by the hospital staff, which caused her to become disoriented and to hallucinate. The nursing staff at the hospital knew that the patient was at high risk of falling and even witnessed her attempting to get out of bed several times before her fall. However, the staff chose not to utilize bed alarms or wrist restraints and failed to even notify her physicians of her changing medical condition. As a result of the negligence of the nursing staff, the patient attempted to get out of bed unassisted and fell. The fall resulted in a neck fracture. The patient had to undergo surgery, wear a painful neck brace for months, and undergo rehabilitation for several months. As a result of the fall, she was never able to return home. She died several months later in a nursing home. The hospital paid $550,000 to settle the case.

DISCLAIMER: The results are specific to the facts and legal circumstances of each of the clients’ cases and should not be used to form an expectation that the same results could be obtained for other clients in similar matters without reference to the specific factual and legal circumstances of each client’s case.

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