Hospital falls are a significant problem in Indiana and across the nation. Indiana medical malpractice lawyers can help patients and their families injured as a result of a hospital fall.
Studies have found falls to be the single most significant adverse event encountered in hospitals. Hospital falls lead to longer stays, increased bills, decreased function, and diminished quality of life. Elderly patients are, particularly at risk. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement reports that 10% of fatal falls for the elderly occur in hospitals.
Because of the severe consequences of patient falls at hospitals, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) included fall prevention in hospitals in its 2005 National Patient Safety Goals. Those goals called for hospitals to “assess and periodically reassess each patient’s risk for falling, including the potential risk associated with the patient’s medication regiment, and take action to address any identified risks.”
A hospital’s failure to make a proper assessment of a patient’s risk for falling, or its failure to take steps to prevent the fall of an at-risk patient, may be malpractice. If you or a loved one has suffered an injury as a result of a fall at a hospital, contact the experienced Indiana medical malpractice attorneys at Garau Germano Hanley & Pennington, P.C.