Patient's Fall: Case Dismissed, No Proper Expert Opinion.

Patient's Fall: Case Dismissed, No Proper Expert Opinion.

Legal Eagle Eye Newsletter for the Nursing Profession

Request a complimentary copy of our current issue.

The patient's family's lawsuit alleged the patient had dementia and other medical issues, and fell in his room at the hospital. The lawsuit never specified exactly what the hospital did or failed to do that caused the patients fall. SUPREME COURT OF MISSISSIPPI February 1, 2018

The elderly patient was admitted to the hospital with diagnoses of altered mental state and combativeness. Three days into his stay a nurse checked on him at 6:40 p.m. At 7:00 p.m. the nurse found him on the floor of his bathroom with a head laceration that required stapling in the hospital's emergency department. It is not clear from the court record that the injury was more serious than a superficial skin laceration.

His wife used a power of attorney to file a lawsuit against the hospital and then continued the lawsuit after he passed. The lawsuit alleged the patient suffered from advanced dementia and disorientation and was left alone in his room with no restraints and suffered a head laceration when he got out of bed.

The Supreme Court of Mississippi dismissed the case. The lawsuit alleged the hospital had a duty of ordinary care and failed to do what a reasonably prudent doctor, hospital or healthcare facility would have done. The hospital allegedly did not properly medicate the patient based on his medical history and did not provide proper measures to ensure his safety. However, the Court fount no reference beyond the vague allegations of the lawsuit to specific measures that should have been taken and were not taken to assess the patient's fall risk and provide for his safety. Med. Center v. Harris, __ So. 3d __, 2018 WL 654072 (Miss., February 1, 2018).