Patient Falls are a Leading Cause of Injury in Virginia Hospitals and Nursing Homes
Patient falls are a leading cause of personal injury in Virginia hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities. In larger hospitals, patient falls are daily incidents. Most patient falls are predictable and avoidable, so constitute medical malpractice.
Each Virginia patient must be assessed for risk of falls upon admission and during shifts. A patient is scored as a low, high or extreme fall risk. All patients are entitled some protections from falls.
Patients are assessed on known fall risk factors. Leadings factors are advanced age, diminished mentation, unsteady gait, and especially non-compliance. Additional factors include medications, incontinence and diagnoses.
Low-risk interventions for all include periodic checks, call buttons, patient instruction, family education, non-skid slippers, night lights, and beds lowered and locked. High-risk interventions add alarm systems, side rails, mats, and color-coded magnet, sticker and band symbols. Extreme-risk interventions are sitters and physical restraints of torso, wrists and/or ankles.
Brain injury and hip or femur fracture are frequent serious personal injuries from patient falls and often cascade the patient into a downward spiral. Brain injury often prematurely condemns a patient to institutionalization in nursing homes unto death. The majority of elderly patients who fall and break a hip die within the year.
Avery T. “Sandy” Waterman, Jr., Esq. handles patient fall cases in Hampton Roads and throughout Virginia. Currently he has cases against facilities in Williamsburg, Newport News, York County and Roanoke, Virginia. Patient falls are sophisticated medical malpractice litigation.
