Fall Risk Patient Is Left Unattended In Hospital

Case Overview

This case involves an elderly man with severe arthritis and dementia who fell in a hospital. The man was living in a nursing home and had been designated as a fall-risk patient by the facility. The man was rushed to the hospital one night after experiencing difficulty breathing. While the patient was in the hospital, he was left unattended for a significant period of time and was later discovered unconscious on the floor next to his bed. An expert in fall risk prevention was sought to determine whether any protocols or industry standards were violated in this case and evaluate whether the plaintiff could have had a better outcome with a different protocol.

Questions to the Occupational Health and Safety expert and their responses

Are you able to advise on best preventative practices for fall-risk patients? Please explain.

This case is right in my area of expertise. I have 35 years experience in all settings as a practicing geriatric clinician. I am a board-certified geriatric clinical specialist with experience in skilled nursing facilities, home care settings, hospital settings, and outpatient settings. I am able to speak about best practices, evaluate the patient's fall risk from medical documentation, and describe prevention strategies in this case. Evaluating extrinsic and intrinsic factors for fall risk is my area of specialty, and I have authored both my doctoral dissertation and a white paper funded by the CDC on this topic. Currently, I am a faculty member at a major institution and teach a course on comprehensive fall prevention. I was a lead researcher for a multi-year project for the Center for Disease Control and Injury Prevention regarding fall prevention best practices.

Have you ever had a patient develop the outcome described in the case? If so, please explain.

I have had patients who are at high risk for falls who have subsequently suffered serious falls.

About the expert

This highly qualified and board certified expert is a practicing physical therapist with 34 years of clinical experience. Her private practice centers around treatment for geriatric clients, including specialized intervention programs for fall prevention. This expert has a BS in physical therapy from the University of Connecticut, Masters of Health Sciences from Grand Valley State University, and a Doctor of Science in Geriatric Physical Therapy from Rocky Mountain University. She also holds Board Certification as a Geriatric Clinical Specialist from the APTA as well as certification as a Wound Care Specialist. This expert was part of a Center for Disease Control grant team studying fall prevention with community dwelling older adults. She has first hand experience with skilled nursing facility, hospital ? based, outpatient, and community dwelling older adult fall prevention clinics and programs. She is a member of the adjunct faculty at Central Michigan University, teaching geriatric physical therapy, aquatic therapy, and fall prevention courses.

E-016654

Specialties:

Occupational Health and Safety

Dr. Wendy Ketner is a distinguished medical professional with a comprehensive background in surgery and medical research. Currently serving as the Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs at the Expert Institute, she plays a pivotal role in overseeing the organization's most important client relationships. Dr. Ketner's extensive surgical training was completed at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, where she gained hands-on experience in various general surgery procedures, including hernia repairs, cholecystectomies, appendectomies, mastectomies for breast cancer, breast reconstruction, surgical oncology, vascular surgery, and colorectal surgery. She also provided care in the surgical intensive care unit.

Her research interests have focused on post-mastectomy reconstruction and the surgical treatment of gastric cancer, including co-authoring a textbook chapter on the subject. Additionally, she has contributed to research on the percutaneous delivery of stem cells following myocardial infarction.

Dr. Ketner's educational background includes a Bachelor's degree from Yale University in Latin American Studies and a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) from SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. Moreover, she is a member of the Board of Advisors for Opollo Technologies, a fintech healthcare AI company, contributing her medical expertise to enhance healthcare technology solutions. Her role at Expert Institute involves leveraging her medical knowledge to provide insights into legal cases, underscoring her unique blend of medical and legal acumen.