Legal Question in Personal Injury in New York

This sounds like a case that merits further investigation. I would be happy to offer a free consultation to discuss this matter with you today. My office affiliates with top PI firm Russotti (WRSLaw.com) on large personal injury matters.

Let's discuss the options for your mother's case.

Would like to know more about the bed-making procedures followed in this facility, but from what you describe, it would seem there is liability. Query whether the stroke can be causally linked to the fall. You'd need a neurologist to say so. Surely the other physical injuries are connected. Best, M. E. Zuller

Your mother was on the anticoagulant for a reason. The doctors who took her off of it had to know the reason and make a decision using their best medical judgment as to whether the immediate need to stop the active bleeding was greater that the risks associated with stopping her medication given her underlying condition. This is a question of medical judgment. Medical judgment errors are very difficult cases to prove in a malpractice setting. In this setting the fall did not cause the stroke. Rather the fall caused her to bleed which necessitated the above noted medical judgment which resulted in her suffering a stroke which resulted in lasting damages. In New York damages from medical malpractice committed in the course of treatment for injuries suffered as the result of negligence are provable consequential damages of the negligence and therefore compensable. Whether your mother's fall was the result of negligence or not is a determination that requires more information from your mother, the bed changer, and from the facility. In addition, the realities are that case brought on the behalf of elderly plaintiffs are generally less valuable that those brought for younger plaintiffs. An element in the calculation of damages in all injury cases is life expectancy. Your mother�s life expectancy is statistically less than that of a 30 year old woman. If you would like to pursue the possibility of a case you should arrange for a free consultation with an attorney in your hometown with considerable experience handling medical malpractice and general negligence cases. Also, depending on the type of facility in which your mother was a resident, you would benefit from the attorney being familiar with nursing home negligence cases and actions to enforce the public health law provisions related to residential care facilities. Best of luck with all of it. Jason A. Richman

The short answer is yes, based upon the circumstances you have described, it appears that your mother has a viable claim against the cleaning person, her employer, and potentially the Senior Community where her apartment is located. The full nature and extent of those injuries that can be related to the trip and fall will require further investigation, particularly connecting the administration of Coumadin and the occurrence of the stroke. Please feel free to contact the undersigned at the office below for a free consultation and further review of this claim.