Cada año, miles de pacientes en hospitales, instalaciones de rehabilitación y asilos para ancianos sufren graves lesiones por caídas de sus camas de hospital. En muchos casos, estas caídas pueden ser atribuidas a acciones negligentes del personal del hospital y de los médicos. Particularmente las enfermeras tienen el deber de establecer y seguir protocolos diseñados para reducir la probabilidad de caídas. En Normandie Law Firm queremos que nuestros clientes y sus familiares se encuentren seguros mientras estén bajo atención médica, y cualquier caso de negligencia o culpa debe corregirse con una compensación justa.

Descripción general de caídas

Las causas comunes de caídas de camas de hospital son:

• Error de la enfermera al levantar el barandal protector.
• Error del personal del hospital al evaluar adecuadamente el riesgo de caídas de un paciente.
• Postergación del tiempo para responder a las llamadas de un paciente.
• Administración de medicamentos que alteraron el estado de ánimo de un paciente.

Las camas de hospital no son demasiado grandes y están creadas para mantener a los pacientes relativamente inmovilizados; Si un paciente puede darse la vuelta y dar vueltas mientras está en la cama, puede afectar las operaciones quirúrgicas recientes, agravar lesiones como esguinces y fracturas de huesos, quitar o desalojar tubos o vías intravenosas, o abrir heridas sensibles.

Es crucial mantener a los pacientes lo más seguros posible y se deben llevar a cabo medidas para preservar la salud del paciente. Aunque la cama está diseñada para mantener al paciente seguro, los problemas con los barandales y la negligencia de las enfermeras juegan un papel importante en potencialmente causar más lesiones. La negligencia de una enfermera puede ser tan simple como estar preparando la cama del paciente, pero encontrarse con la necesidad de responder a una llamada de emergencia, lo que puede resultar en olvidar levantar el barandal.

Es importante mencionar que todo tipo de pacientes pueden sufrir caídas desde las camas de hospital. La mayoría de las víctimas son pacientes de edad avanzada, pero las personas que duermen inquietamente y las que están muy medicadas también pueden caerse; estas últimas puede que ni siquiera estén dormidas, sino simplemente aturdidas o desorientadas. Pueden intentar levantarse de la cama, incluso trepando por los barandales, pero su estado mental y físico se puede ver comprometido debido a los medicamentos. En este caso, el personal de enfermería no le estaba prestando suficiente atención, y la negligencia sería la base principal de su reclamo.

Aunque una cama de hospital generalmente no está muy elevada del suelo, aún puede sufrir lesiones graves por una caída, especialmente si cae en algún ángulo incómodo. Algunas lesiones comunes en tales caídas incluyen fracturas de cráneo, ligamentos desgarrados, daño en los hombros, esternones fracturados, fracturas faciales, narices rotas, lesiones cerebrales traumáticas, laceraciones y hematomas subdurales. También puede desprender los goteos intravenosos y las sondas de alimentación, lo que provocará más daños internos, especialmente si lo dejaron desatendido durante algún tiempo y el personal de enfermería no se dio cuenta hasta mucho más tarde.

Determinación de responsabilidad en reclamos por negligencia hospitalaria

Hay cuatro factores que deben comprobarse en un tribunal de justicia para establecer una base para la negligencia médica.

• Deber de cuidado: Generalmente, cada individuo le debe a otro individuo el deber de actuar de manera razonable para prevenir el riesgo de daño mutuo. En la profesión médica, sin embargo, el deber de cuidado lo establece la profesión médica específica o la especialidad de la profesión médica. Por ejemplo, en el caso de un paciente que sufre convulsiones, las enfermeras practicantes o los asistentes médicos deben levantar el barandal protector de la cama. Los golpes y sacudidas que resultan de las convulsiones deben justificar este cuidado.
• Incumplimiento del deber de cuidado: En el contexto de mala praxis, se produce un incumplimiento del deber de cuidado cuando la parte culpable no administra correctamente el tratamiento adecuado. El incumplimiento de un deber de cuidado se generaría cuando el empleado del hospital no levanta los barandales protectores de la cama del hospital del dicho paciente con convulsiones.
• Causalidad: ¿Fue el incumplimiento del deber de cuidado la causa del daño? ¿El paciente se habría caído de la cama si no se hubiera incumplido el deber de cuidado? La respuesta es no; o al menos, es muy poco probable.
• Daño fundamentado: si el paciente sufrió lesiones debido al incidente que tuvo lugar, entonces se se cubren los requisitos y se puede presentar un reclamo. El paciente con convulsiones puede haberse caído de la cama debido al deber negligente de una enfermera, pero si fue agarrado por un compañero de enfermería o no dañó su cuerpo ni complicó su condición de ninguna manera, entonces no hay base para un reclamo. No se produjo ningún daño como resultado de la negligencia y el incumplimiento del deber de cuidado.

Diferencia entre mala praxis y negligencia

Cuando se trata de caídas de camas de hospital, es importante tomar en cuenta la diferencia entre un caso de negligencia simple y un caso de mala praxis.

Los casos de mala praxis se refuerzan con la opinión de un testigo médico experto calificado que explicará el estándar de cuidado adecuado para el paciente en esa circunstancia, la causa (si el establecimiento no proporcionó el tratamiento adecuado) y los daños (el daño que sufrió el paciente o cómo empeoró su condición). Si por ejemplo, el médico no reconoció los síntomas de un tumor cerebral, es posible que la conciencia espacial y la capacidad de pensamiento lógico del paciente se hayan visto comprometidas, lo cuál pudo haber provocado que el paciente no pudiera levantarse de la cama sin caerse. Otras causas incluyen la mezcla de medicamentos y un diagnóstico de riesgo incorrecto.

Sin embargo, la mayoría de los casos de caídas de camas de hospital son el resultado de negligencia. Los pacientes suelen caerse debido a causas distintas a sus condiciones y como resultado de la negligencia de una enfermera o asistente.

Compensación disponible para víctimas de caídas de camas de hospital

Las víctimas de lesiones personales pueden recibir compensación por todos los daños sufridos por caerse de las camas de un hospital. Los tipos específicos de daños indemnizables en tales casos son:

1. Todos los gastos médicos incluyendo atención médica.
2. Atención médica y rehabilitación futura.
3. Daños económicos, incluida la pérdida de ingresos y la pérdida futura de la capacidad de generar ingresos.
4. Daños no económicos, incluidas evaluaciones de daños punitivos, dolor y sufrimiento y angustia emocional.

Es importante señalar que California, al igual que varios otros estados, tiene un límite sobre la cantidad de compensación que puede recibir una víctima por daños no económicos derivados de negligencia médica. La cantidad máxima de restitución que puede recibir por solo daños no económicos tiene un límite de $250,000 dólares.

Garantía de nuestro bufete legal

Demasiado frecuentemente, los posibles clientes dudan en ponerse en contacto con un bufete de abogados debido a los costos asociados con la búsqueda de representación legal. Nuestro bufetetrabaja en un acuerdo de contingencia sin honorarios, lo que significa que un cliente no tiene que pagar honorarios o gastos legales hasta que el caso alcance una resolución monetaria exitosa. Las facturas médicas y los costos del tratamiento ya son lo suficientemente altos, y creemos que no debe pagar los gastos de su bolsillo para obtener la ayuda para recuperar una compensación por un incidente en un hospital.

Contáctenos en Normandie Law Firm hoy mismo para hablar con un abogado y recibir una consulta legal gratuita sobre su caso.
FURTHER INFORMATION:

• Statute of Limitations to File a Nursing Home Bed Fall Injury Lawsuit

• Los Angeles Nursing Home Bed Fall Attorney

• Sue Nursing Home for Bed Fall

• San Francisco Lawyer to Sue a Nursing Home for a Patient Falling Out of Bed

• Can A Hospital be Sued for A Patient Falling Out of Bed

Our law firm is currently investigating potential claims on behalf in victims who suffered from severe complications due to the food poising outbreak. Common symptoms of individuals who were transported to the hospital include severe diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea. The may be several dozen victims many of whom have yet to be indetified.

There were an eclectic collection of people at the thanksgiving dinner coordinated by a local church including the elderly from nursing homes and long term care facilities, mentally and physical handicapped and the homeless.

Recovery Available for Victims of Food Poisoning:  Individuals who have fallen severely ill due to a food borne illness or contamination are owed the right to seek financial recovery for all damages they have incurred. Common factors in determining the potential value of a food borne illness claim are provided for below.

• The extent and severity of the damage suffered
• The long term implications of the disease for the victim
• Medical costs incurred: Including hospitalizing, recovery, treatment and any future likely medical costs.
• Loss of income and future earning capacity resulting from long term injuries and permanent disabilities due to the harm suffered.
• Non-economic damages: This includes pain and suffering, emotional distress, and post traumatic stress.
• Availability for Punitive Damages: Punitive damages can be awarded in cases where the at fault party acted with the intent to cause harm or displayed reckless conduct resulting in the harm suffered.

Wrongful Death Lawsuits: In the state of California family members of a deceased individual have the right to seek financial compensation from all at fault parties. For more information on wrongful death claims see here…

Free Attorney Consultation Available:  If you or a loved one have suffered harm due to recent outbreak of a food borne illness during the Thanksgiving meal and have any please questions regarding your right to compensation contact our law offices. All legal consultations are provided my our attorneys free of charge.

Further Information:

Top 10 Causes of Food Poisoning

Injuries are More Common than You May Have Imagined: According to the FDA there have been more than one thousands recorded incidences of injuries caused by rails in the United States. Some of the most common injuries due to defective bed rails include the following…

1. Head injuries – including concussion or major traumatic brain damage.
2. Broken bones and fractures to the extremities.
3. Spinal cord injuries – disc bulges, paraplegia or quadriplegia.
4. Facial injuries – lacerations, broken nose or ocular injuries.
5. Wrongful Death – resulting from entrapment and suffocation.

Recovery Available for Victims: Victims of defective products are entitled to recovery for all injuries and damages suffered. A list and brief description of the typed of damages recoverable in personal injury lawsuits is provided for below.

1. Medical costs – victims are entitled to recovery for all medical and rehabilitation expenses stemming from the accident caused by the defective consumer product.
2. Future medical care – victims are also entitled to compensation for any future medical or rehabilitation care.
3. Economic damage – this may include loss of earnings and future loss of earning potential due to long term disability or injury.
4. Emotional distress, mental anguish, pain and suffering.
5. Punitive damages: Punitive damages are assessed when the at fault party acted with reckless disregard for the life and health of consumers. For example if the manufacturer or distributor knew of the dangers associated with the use of their products but failed to inform the consumers of those dangers.

Free Attorney Consultation: If you or a loved one have suffered injuries due to a defective bed handle feel free to contact our law firm. All legal consultations are provided by our attorneys free of charge.

Overview of Falls

Common causes of falls from hospital beds include the following:

• Failure of the nurse to raise the protective guardrail.
• Failure of hospital staff to properly assess a patient’s risk of falls.
• Postponement in the time to respond to a patient’s calls.
• Administration of medication that altered a patient’s state of being.

Hospital beds are not overly large and they are designed to keep patients relatively immobilized; if a patient can roll around and toss and turn while in bed, he may compromise recent surgical procedures, aggravate injuries like sprains and broken bones, remove or dislodge tubes or IVs, or tear open sensitive wounds.

It is crucial to keep patients as safe as possible, and measures must be taken to preserve a patient’s health. Although the bed is designed to keep the patient safe, guardrail issues and nurse negligence play a part in causing further injuries. Nurse negligence can be as simple as prepping the patient’s bed, but needing to respond to an emergency call, thus resulting in forgetting to raise the guardrail.

It should be noted that all types of patients can suffer falls from hospital beds. Most victims are elderly patients, but restless sleepers and heavily medicated individuals can also fall; the latter may not even be asleep, but merely groggy or disoriented. He may attempt to get out of the bed, even by climbing over the guardrails, but his mental and physical states are compromised due to the medication. In this case, he was not being paid enough attention by nursing staff, and negligence would be the primary basis of your claim.

Though a hospital bed is usually not very high off the ground, you can still sustain serious injuries from a fall, especially if you land at an awkward angle. Some common injuries in such falls include skull fractures, torn ligaments, damage to the shoulders, fractured sternums, facial fractures, broken noses, traumatic brain injuries, lacerations, and subdural hematomas. You may also dislodge drips and feeding tubes, leading to further internal damage, especially if you were left unattended for some time and not noticed by nursing staff until much later.

Establishing Liability in Hospital Negligence Claims

There are four factors which need to be proven in the court of law in order to establish a basis for medical negligence.

• Duty of Care: Generally, every individual owes another individual a duty to act in a reasonable manner so as to prevent the risk of harm to each other. In the medical profession, however, the duty of care is established by the specific medical profession or specialty of the medical profession. For example, in the case of a patient who suffers from seizures, the nurse practitioners or medical assistants should raise the protective railing of the person’s bed. The thrashing and shaking resulting from seizures should warrant this care.
• Breach of the Duty of Care: In the context of medical malpractice, a breach of a duty of care takes place when the at-fault party fails to properly administer the proper course of treatment. The breach of a duty of care would occur when the employee of the hospital fails to raise the protective guardrails of the hospital bed of the aforementioned seizure patient.
• Causation: Was the breach of the duty of care the cause of the harm? Here, would the patient have fallen out of the bed if there were not breach of the duty of care? The answer is no; or at least, it is very unlikely.
• Substantiated Harm: If the patient sustained injuries due to the incident that took place, then all the boxes are ticked, and a claim can be filed. The patient with seizures may have fallen out of bed due to the negligent duty of a nurse, but if he was caught by a fellow nurse or did not damage his body or complicate his condition in any way, then there is no basis for a claim. No harm was done as a result of the negligence and breach of duty of care.

Difference between Medical Malpractice and Negligence

When dealing with falls from hospital beds, it is important to note the difference between a simple negligence case and a medical malpractice case.

Medical malpractice cases are bolstered by the opinion of an expert qualified medical witness who will explain the appropriate standard of care for the patient in that circumstance, causation (how the facility didn’t provide adequate treatment), and damages (the harm the patient sustained or how the condition of the patient was worsened). For instance, if the doctor did not recognize symptoms of a brain tumor, the patient’s spatial awareness and logical thought capabilities may have been compromised, resulting in the patient being unable to climb from the bed without falling. Other causes include mixing medication and improper risk diagnosis.

Most cases of falls from hospital beds are the result of negligence, however. Patients usually fall due to causes that are separate from their conditions and the result of a nurse’s or assistant’s negligence.

Compensation Available for Victims of Hospital Bed Falls

Victims of personal injury are able to receive recovery for all harms sustained from falling from hospital beds. The specific types of harm compensable in such cases include the following:

1. All medical and health care expenses.
2. Future medical and rehabilitation care.
3. Economic damages, including lost income and future loss of earning capacity.
4. Non-economic damages, including punitive damage assessments, pain and suffering, and emotional distress.

Importantly, it should be noted that California, as well as various other states, has a limit on how much compensation a victim can receive from non-economic damages stemming from medical malpractice. The maximum amount of restitution you can receive purely for non-economic damages is capped at $250,000.

Our Firm’s Guarantee

All too often, potential clients hesitate contacting a law firm due to the costs associated with seeking out legal representation. Our law firm works on a no-win, zero fee contingency agreement, meaning that a client does not have to pay any legal fees or expenses until the case reaches a successful monetary resolution. Medical bills and treatment costs are already high enough, and we feel that you should not pay out-of-pocket expenses for assistance in recovering compensation from an incident at a hospital.

Contact us at Normandie Law Firm today to speak to an attorney and receive a free legal consultation on your case.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

• Statute of Limitations to File a Nursing Home Bed Fall Injury Lawsuit

• Los Angeles Nursing Home Bed Fall Attorney

• Sue Nursing Home for Bed Fall

• San Francisco Lawyer to Sue a Nursing Home for a Patient Falling Out of Bed

• Can A Hospital be Sued for A Patient Falling Out of Bed

Every year, thousands of patients across the United States suffered serious injuries caused improper drawing of blood in medical facilities and hospitals across the country. Nurses, medical assistants and libratory personal must follow strict procedures when drawing blood. A claim for medical malpractice can be established when the failure to follow such medical procedures is a cause of the injuries suffered by the patient. In many instances, medical practitioners fail to notice clear signs of the mistakes they are making while performing the procedure of drawing blood. Victims have the right to seek compensation for harms suffered as a result of any type of medical procedure or testing conducted.

Nerve Injury from Improper Drawing of Blood

Venipuncture perhaps the most common procedure performed in the medical field. Specific types of nerve injury including peripheral nerve injuries are a common result blood drawing.

Post – Tourniquet Syndrome

Or PTS is identified by pronounces and prolonged swelling of the extremity. In most cases, PTS is caused by blood that has been drawn returning to the body after the medical practitioner has released the tourniquet. A similar ailment that commonly strikes individuals who have had their blood drawn is Comparative Pressure Syndrome. This takes place when during a prolonged tourniquet duration a combination external compression and an increase in compartment contents results in an increased level of tissues damages manifested in pain. Other medical complications which may take place include.

(1) Digital necrosis

(2) Toxic reactions or chemical reaction

(3) Thrombosis.

(4) Thermal tissue damage

(5) Pressure sores.

Recovery Available in Medical Malpractice Claims

Individuals who have suffered nerve damages or other injuries due to the negligence of a medical facility have the right to seek compensation from all at fault parties. Specific categories of compensation available in such case include the following…

• All medical and health-related charges.
• All future medical and rehabilitation needs.
• All economic damages including loss of wages and loss of income.
• Non-economic damages – pain and suffering and punitive damages.

Attorney Consultation Available: If you or a loved one have suffered from severe injuries including nerve damage due the failure of a medical practitioner to properly draw your blood and have any legal questions feel free to contact our law offices. All legal consultations regarding your case are provided by our legal team free of charge.

More Information on Medical Malpractice and Nerve Damage

Nerve Damage Medical Malpractice Attorney

Can Hospitals Be Sued for Blood Draw Causing Injury – Nerve Damage

Varicose Vein Surgery Malpractice Lawsuit – Nerve Injury Attorney

Hand Injury Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) Lawsuit Attorney

What is Complex Regional Pain Syndrome? How to Diagnose CRPS?

Victims Right to Compensation: Victims who have suffered bed sores due a failure to nursing homes to abide by the duty of care owed to residents are the right to seek financial compensation for all harms suffered.

Laws Regarding Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

There are several state and federal laws governing the protection of the elderly in nursing home facilities and elderly care centers across the country. Some important laws and regulations intended for the protection of the elderly are as follows…

1. Abandonment of the Elderly: Desertion or willful forsaking of an elder or a dependent adult by anyone having care or custody of that person under circumstances in which a reasonable person would continue to provide care and custody.

2. Definition of Abuse of the Elderly: Abuse can include (1) Physical abuse, (2) Neglect of an individual and (3) Psychological Abuse.

3. Who is Considered an Elder Person: An elderly person in defined as any person over the age of 64 or any persons between the aged of 18 and 64 who have mental or physical ailments and limit or restrict his or her ability to carry out normal function or activities to be able to protect his or her rights.

4. Neglect of the Elderly: Specific acts of neglect include (1) The failure to assist in the individual personal hygiene and or provide for proper shelter. (2) Failure to provide for needed to asked for medical care and (3) Failure to protect from malnutrition and dehydration.

Common Reasons Why Bedsores Are a Leading Cause of Injuries in Nursing Homes

Nursing homes have a general duty to protect all resident from harm including the development pressure ulcers (bed sores). Some of the leading causes of bed sore development in the Nursing homes include. (1) Lack of supervision, (2) Inadequate staffing of nursing home and elderly care facilities, (3) Failure to turn immobile patients, (4) Failure to provide for clean sheets and bedding, (5) Dehydration, a leading factor in the development of bed sores in patients of hospital and residents of nursing homes, (6) Failure to provide for a sanitary living environment (7) Failure to properly clean residents.

Stages of Bed Sores – Stage I to Stage IV

There are several stages of bed sores in severity from State I to State IV.

Stage I Bed Sore Symptoms: Little or no skin loss in the area of concern. The skin will show certain redness and sensitivity to touch.

Stage II Bed Sore Symptoms: The sore is more extensive. Infections may develop.

Stage III Bed Sore Symptoms: Complete loss of skin tissue and necrosis of the underlying tissue.

Stage IV Bed Sore Symptoms: The bed sore extends through the skin all the way to the muscle tissue and skeletal tissue.

Bedsore Complications Resulting in the Death of an Individual: In many cases bed sores can result in severe and life threatening secondary complications leading to death. This can include the contraction of dangerous infections and nerve damage. In such cases certain family members of the deceased have the right to pursue a wrongful death cause of action against all at fault parties.

Consult With an Attorney: A personal injury attorney well versed on cases involving acts of neglect, negligence, and abuse on the part of nursing home staff and directors will be able to advise you as to the most optimum legal course of action so that your rights and the rights of your loved ones are protected and full compensation awarded.