Medical Legal Consultant Evaluates Hospital Fall Protocols

Case Overview

This medico legal case takes place in Alabama and involves a female patient. she was admitted to the hospital for a minor surgical procedure. Post op, while the patient was documented as an elevated risk of falling, no bed alarms were placed or other preventative methods used to minimize her risk. Eventually, the woman attempted to adjust the blinds in her room on her own after calling for a nurse. She slipped and fell, suffering significant injuries. As a result of the injury, she endured numerous related complications which eventually led to a total loss of her mobility. It is alleged that the hospital failed to minimize the risk of falling for this patient, and ignored widely accepted norms for preventing falls.

Questions to the Nursing expert and their responses

Have you ever had a patient slip / fall while accessing the restroom?

I take every precaution that I can for a patient that is a fall risk.

Given this patients condition and past medical history, and the fact that she was a documented elevated fall risk, should more precautions have been taken?

I take every precaution that I can for a patient that is a fall risk.

Have you ever served as an expert witness on a similar matter?

I have twenty-three years experience practicing as a registered nurse with much of that time spent working medical surgical nursing in a hospital.

About the expert

This extremely qualified expert has years of experience as a nurse educator and nurse manager. She received her BSN degree from Auburn University and her MSN degree from the University of Alabama. She is a member of various professional associations, including the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nursing, the American Nurses Association and the Alabama State Nurses Association, which honored her with its Citation for Excellence in Nursing in 2014. She is a former staff nurse at 6+ medical centers and a former assistant professor of nursing at Samford University. She is also a former nurse manager at Tuscaloosa Veteran's Administration Medical Center. Currently, she is a staff nurse and nursing instructor at a major university in Alabama.