Summary:
A predictable, preventable hospital fall, followed by a second one, leaves a patient with permanent bowel loss.
Key Points:
- Patient with Multiple Sclerosis admitted for hernia surgery and flagged as a high falls risk
- No meaningful falls prevention measures were put in place
- Two unwitnessed falls rupture the surgical wound and ultimately the bowel
- Patient left with a permanent stoma after multiple further surgeries
Case Details:
The Plaintiff, a man living with Multiple Sclerosis, was admitted to a regional hospital for a hernia procedure. His MS affected his mobility and put him at risk of episodes of delirium. Both factors were noted on admission, and he was flagged as a high-risk for falls.
Despite that assessment, none of the standard precautions was put in place. There were no side rails on his bed. He was not in a low bed. There were no alarm mats. There was no one-on-one supervision. The only steps taken were to position his bed near the nurses’ station and place a “falls risk” sign above it.
He fell once, rupturing the surgical wound from his hernia procedure. He was repaired, transferred to ICU and stabilised. On his very first night back on the general ward, he fell a second time – this time so severely that the fall ruptured his bowel.
He spent more than six months in the hospital and required multiple further surgeries. The damaged section of his bowel had to be resected, and he was left with a permanent stoma.
Carbone Lawyers acted for him in proceedings against the hospital. The hospital ran its defence largely on causation, suggesting that pre-existing wound healing problems meant our client may have ended up with a stoma in any event. His lawyer pressed the point that the extent of bowel loss and the months spent in hospital were the direct result of two falls that should never have happened.
Outcome:
The matter settled for an amount in excess of half a million dollars, including costs.