Patient’s Fall: Court Finds No Negligence.
Legal Eagle Eye Newsletter for the Nursing Profession
The nursing home resident admitted he always walked to the bathroom by himself without any help and did not call for assistance this time before he fell. He was fully alert and oriented and was able to make his needs known to his caregivers in the facility.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MISSISSIPPI July 19, 2017An individual lived in a nursing home that provides custodial care for helpless elderly individuals. He fell and fractured his hip while walking without assistance to the bathroom in his room.
Afterward he sued the nursing home for negligence. The US District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi dismissed his case. The Court based its decision to rule in the nursing home’s favor on the nursing documentation entered into the resident’s chart right after the incident. The nurses reiterated the fact that the resident’s nursing assessments had consistently found him alert and oriented and fully capable of communicating his needs to his caregivers. It was documented right after the fall that he admitted then that he was walking to the bathroom alone and had not asked for any assistance. He told the nurses he always walked to the bathroom by himself without asking for assistance and this time he just happened to fall.
The Court had no evidence from the resident that the nursing staff of the nursing home departed from the standard of care for fall risk assessment and prevention. That mandated dismissal of his case.
Clark v. Nursing Home, 2017 WL 3075133 (S.D. Miss., July 19, 2017).More references from nursinglaw.com
http://www.nursinglaw.com/fall-hospital-nurses-negligent.htm
http://www.nursinglaw.com/fall-getting-out-of-bed.pdf
http://www.nursinglaw.com/hospital-fall-nursing-negligence.htm
http://www.nursinglaw.com/fall-negligence-outcome.htm