Type of action: Wrongful death Hospital fall
Injuries alleged: Subdural hematoma
Case name: Confidential
Case number: Confidential
Court: Confidential
Verdict or settlement: Settlement (mediation)
Settlement date: October 2007
Amount: $500,000
Plaintiff\’s experts: Frances Eason, Ph.D., nursing; Carol White, RN.
Plaintiff\’s attorney: Steve Gugenheim of Gugenheim Law, Raleigh
Submitted by: Steve Gugenheim
The patient, a 72-year-old retiree, was admitted to the defendant hospital in February 2005 after falling at home.
At the time of admission, the patient had a history of stroke, left-sided weakness, coronary artery disease, increased weakness and multiple falls.
Several days after admission, the patient was found on the floor of his room. The patient had tried to get out of bed without assistance and sustained a subdural hematoma.
The patient died three months later, and the medical examiner determined that the subdural hematoma was the cause of death.
© 2007 Lawyers Weekly Inc., All Rights Reserved.