Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Indiana

patient falls out of bed, not helped by staff

My dad fell out of his hospital bed and was unable to get up. He was in the floor, in his own blood and feces. The bed alarm did not work, and no one knew he was there. He screamed and yelled and finally got someone to come in, and they got him up and back in a new bed. He lost enough blood to receive 2 units. He cut his head, injured his thumb and right hand to the point he was unable to feed himself, and received an abrasion on his lower back. His health rapidly deteriorated after the fall, his speech was slurred, he was lethargic and was moved to the ICU later that day. I think the fall led to his losing the strength to get through his dialysis and other medical procedures. This was on Monday morning. He died within 48 hours. Can you advise?


Asked on 11/08/07, 10:10 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Burton Padove Indiana and Illinois Lawyer, Burton A. Padove

Re: patient falls out of bed, not helped by staff

Please accept my condolences. It sounds as if there was negligence. However, whether that negligence constitutes medical malpractice can not be determined based on the information provided. I believe that it would be necessary to hire a physician to review the records in order to give an opinion whether there was malpractice. If you wish to have that done, please feel free to contact me. Physicaians generally charge between $500 and $1500 depending on complexity.

Respectfully,

Burton

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Answered on 11/09/07, 10:00 am


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