Spinal Cord Injury From a Hospital Fall: When the Hospital is Liable

Falls inside a hospital should never result in catastrophic spinal cord injury. However, this outcome happens far more than hospital administrators ever want to admit. Hospitals should be the safest place for vulnerable people who are fighting injury or illness, recovering from surgery, or otherwise healing. But when hospital staff fail to manage mobility, monitor patients’ fall risk, or respond to calls for help promptly, they may be liable for resulting injuries that follow.

These claims are complex and require an in-depth understanding of medical care and standards. That’s where we step in to help. Call Crandall & Pera Law, LLC today to set up a consultation with our team.

Why spinal cord injuries from hospital falls are especially serious

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), between 700,000 and 1 million hospitalized patients fall each year in the United States. Hospital falls are already serious, and often indicate a safety breach where patients should have the support they need to heal and recover. However, most falls result in bruises, fractures, or painful bumps. These are serious, but patients typically make full recoveries. A spinal cord injury is an entirely separate beast. Damage to the spinal cord cuts off communication between the brain and different parts of the body, depending on where the damage occurs.

These injuries result in partial or complete paralysis, limited mobility, loss of bowel and bladder control, nerve pain, and ongoing medical needs. The higher on the spine an injury occurs, the more profound the impact is. A serious spinal cord injury in the highest vertebra could leave someone completely paralyzed.

In hospital settings, these injuries tend to occur when a high-risk patient attempts to walk or change positions without help. They may fall out of bed, fall from their chair, slip while using the restroom, or collapse during a transfer. This type of injury is serious enough to change a patient’s life forever.

Hospital duty to prevent falls and manage mobility

Joint Commission–accredited hospitals are required to assess every patient’s fall risk and take appropriate, individualized actions to reduce that risk. Current Joint Commission standards state that after the risk assessments, facilities must implement targeted interventions to educate staff about fall-reduction strategies, educate patients and families, and regularly evaluate whether fall-prevention measures are effective. Depending on a patient’s risk level, individual precautions may include validated fall-risk screening tools, individualized care plans, nonslip footwear, assistance with toileting and transfers, lower bed positioning, activation of bed or chair alarms, and clear communication of fall-risk status across the care team. Ongoing reassessment is also vital as fall risk often changes throughout the course of a patient’s hospitalization.

When hospitals may be liable for falls

Hospitals are not liable for every fall that happens. Sometimes, even when all necessary safety precautions are followed, a patient falls. This often happens if a patient is determined to get up and move independently, regardless of the risk to their safety. The Joint Commission has identified some of the main causes of falls, and many of these issues point to hospital liability:

• Inadequate assessment: A thorough fall risk assessment should check a patient’s mobility and gait, consider medications and their side effects, account for post-surgical weakness, and look at balance disorders and past falls. If a facility doesn’t conduct an assessment at all, rushes through without considering the various factors at play, or fails to update the assessment when new risk factors are present, they could be at fault for falls that occur.
• Communication failures: Constant communication is crucial in healthcare settings. When staff members fail to update incoming care providers about near-falls or safety issues that occurred on their shift, patients may inadvertently be put in danger.
• Failure to adhere to safety protocols: Safety protocols like two-person transfers, constant supervision during restroom usage, and the use of certain mobility equipment for all transfers exist to keep patients and staff members safe. When protocols are ignored, injuries are bound to follow.
• Inadequate staffing levels: Healthcare is known for its constant staffing crises. Facilities across the United States struggle to stay properly staffed, and that’s particularly true when we’re talking about CNAs and other direct care providers. If a facility does not maintain an appropriate staff-to-patient ratio and a patient falls as a result, the facility may be held liable for the fall.
• Insufficient supervision of patients: If a patient is at high risk for falls, they should be supervised more closely than patients who are not at risk of falling. Leaving patients unattended while using the restroom, not rounding regularly, responding too late to a call button, or ignoring bed alarms are all huge mistakes that put patients in harm’s way.

Special considerations at the state level

If you suffer a spinal cord injury after a hospital fall, you may have a claim against the facility where you were injured. However, claims involving medical facilities or care providers require specific forms of evidence. In Ohio, most medical malpractice lawsuits must be supported by an affidavit of merit from a qualified medical expert filed with the complaint. Kentucky also has a statutory certificate-of-merit requirement for medical malpractice actions. This requirement exists to prevent frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits that drive up the cost of care for everyone.

Working with a medical malpractice attorney from the very beginning can help you get the necessary evidence, document all expenses related to your injury, and protect yourself from efforts to dismantle your claim. Hospitals are at risk of significant financial loss in these cases, and they may go to great lengths to protect themselves or discredit your injuries.

Find out if you’re owed compensation after a hospital fall

At Crandall & Pera Law, we know how a spinal cord injury can completely change the course of your life. We’re committed to helping you hold negligent healthcare facilities accountable. Call us today or reach out online to schedule a consultation immediately.