Patient Falls at Hospitals: Is this New York Medical Malpractice?

Hospitals

New York Medical Malpractice and Patient Falls at Hospitals: When is it Negligence?

If you hear that a patient falls in a hospital and gets hurt, don’t you think that was the patient’s fault?  Don’t you assume that the patient is responsible for his or her own trip and fall or slip and fall?  Or maybe you would think that the premises is liable for the fall, such as the hospital itself or surgical office.  But the truth is that the doctor, healthcare staff, and other individuals responsible for the care and treatment of the patient that falls could be liable for New York medical malpractice.  Hospital falls could be medical malpractice.

Yes, that is right—New York medical malpractice!

One example is of a patient that falls right after a surgery.  Still under the effects of anesthesia, a doctor tells a patient that he could freely get up and go to the bathroom as he sees fit.  The patient gets up from bed and immediately falls, as he is unable to walk or move coordinately due to the powerful anesthesia.  That could be New York medical malpractice.

What about a patient who is a fall risk and the hospital, nursing home, or healthcare providers fail to mitigate the risks of falls.  This includes not having bed alarms, moving chairs and tables away from the beds, and even having pads down on the ground to avoid injuries from falls.  Patients that are fall risks are usually easily to identify, such as individuals that are fall risks because they are in the hospital after a fall!  Sounds like a clear case.

Other patients that might be fall risks are patients that are elderly and unstable on their legs.  A new environment like a hospital room could be dangerous.  The patients that are recovering from leg or back injuries could also be serious fall risks which should be protected.  These are important patients to protect and could be New York medical malpractice.

But what do you think?  I would love to hear from you!  Leave a comment or I also welcome your phone call on my toll-free cell at 1-866-889-6882 or you can drop me an e-mail at jfisher@fishermalpracticelaw.com.  You are always welcome to request my FREE book, The Seven Deadly Mistakes of Malpractice Victims, at the home page of my website at www.protectingpatientrights.com.