Accidental Falls In Hospitals

Premises liability laws protect customers who get injured in almost any kind of preventable accident at almost any kind of place of business, but the largest subset of premises liability cases involve accidental falls. Where are accidental falls most likely to happen? Is it at places frequented by children, since children are more likely to run instead of walking and less likely to look where they are going? Is it at recreational facilities like trampoline parks and skating rinks, since customers are there to engage in activities that carry more of a fall risk than ordinary walking? Is it restaurants and supermarkets, since there are so many containers of liquids that can spill on the floor if someone makes a minor mistake, and so much foot traffic that someone might fall before the employees can clean the spill? Hospitals are the site of more accidental fall-related premises liability lawsuits than any of these other places of business. If you got injured in an accidental fall in a hospital or other healthcare facility, contact a Columbia premises liability lawyer.

Georgetown County Woman Suffers Bone Fractures in Accidental Fall in Hospital Room

In February 2019, Robin Reiske was suffering from chest pain and worried that she might be having a heart attack, so she went to the emergency room at Waccamaw Community Hospital in Georgetown County. Even though the tests showed that she was not having a heart attack, the hospital admitted her for observation, because her medical history put her at high risk; she has epilepsy and had previously suffered a stroke.

In her hospital room later that day, Reiske used the bedside commode and then attempted to get back into her wheelchair, but she lost her balance and fell on the hard floor of the hospital room. She fractured her leg in several places, and it required surgery to correct.

Reiske sued the hospital for premises liability, alleging that her fall was due to negligence on the part of the hospital. Her medical chart indicated that she was at a high risk for falling. According to her lawsuit, when a patient in her situation attempts to move from a bedside commode to a wheelchair, she should have the assistance of one or more attendants, or else the commode and wheelchair should have safety equipment such as a gait belt or lift aid.

According to South Carolina premises liability laws, when a business invitee, including patients in hospitals, gets injured in an accident that the hospital management could reasonably have prevented, the patient has the right to compensation for his or her accident-related financial losses. In Reiske’s case, this includes treatment for the leg injury and the associated follow-up treatment.

Let Us Help You Today

The personal injury lawyers at the Stanley Law Group can help you get adequate compensation for your medical bills and other accident-related expenses after a slip and fall accident at a hospital.  Contact The Stanley Law Group in Columbia, South Carolina or call (803)799-4700 for a free initial consultation.

Source:

live5news.com/2023/07/04/state-pays-out-6-figures-patient-slip-fall-georgetown-hospital/