Any time hospital personnel make the decision to leave a patient unattended, they must take the particular patient’s condition into consideration, including the patient’s age, state of alertness and the nature of any injuries or disease the patient has.  CALIFORNIA COURT OF APPEAL, 1996.

   A patient was left alone momentarily by a hospital orderly on a rolling x-ray table. She fell off the table, landed on her head and sustained injuries for which she sued the hospital.

   At the moment the patient fell, the table was not being held securely in place, no one was present with the patient, and the wheel brake had not been set.

   It was not altogether clear just how the patient happened to fall, but that did not matter to the California Court of Appeal in rendering a decision in favor of the patient’s right to sue the hospital.

   Hospital personnel, licensed and non-licensed, have the professional responsibility to take all necessary steps for the patient’s security and safety, including at all times being aware of what needs to be done. A patient cannot be left alone, even momentarily, unless the patient’s condition is fully known and all steps have been taken to insure the patient’s safety. Bellamy vs.  Hospital, 57 Cal. Rptr. 2d 894 (Cal. App., 1996).