Falls are a common and devastating complication of hospital care, particularly in elderly patients. 

According to a recent medical journal article entitled “Prevention of falls in hospital” published by the Royal College of Physicians: 

• Falls among inpatients are the most frequently reported safety incident in NHS hospitals. 30–50% of falls result in some physical injury and fractures occur in 1–3%.
• No fall is harmless, with psychological sequelae leading to lost confidence, delays in functional recovery and prolonged hospitalization. 
• Identification of multiple underlying risk factors coupled with clear interventions to ameliorate the impact of each has been shown to reduce the incidence of inpatient falls by 20–30%. 

According to the leading insurer of hospitals in Canada, the Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC), injuries caused by falls frequently result in significant disabilities with loss of independence and associated costs. 

HIROC identifies some common themes in claims made against hospitals by injured patients:

System

• Lack of an organizational or agency falls prevention program.
• Inadequate availability of protective equipment/devices (e.g., hip guards, padded floor mats, bed alarms).
• Inadequate environmental surveillance and prevention of hazards (e.g., wet floors, inadequate lighting, and uneven surfaces). 
• Inadequate documentation of preventative maintenance on patient equipment.
• Inability to access care plan (home care).

Knowledge and Judgement

• Inconsistently completed falls risk assessment and/or reassessment where indicated. 
• Inconsistently and/or inadequately performed injury assessment after a fall. 
• Lack of awareness of the organizational or agency safety patient handling and mobility practices.
• Falls involving care providers not sufficiently trained in safe lifting and transferring of patients.

Communication and Documentation

• Inadequate communication and documentation of risk assessments and care plans.  
• Failure to communicate patient’s falls risk status (e.g., falls history, sedation prior to a diagnostic test) during patient handoffs or transfers of care. 
• Lack of awareness of degree of falls risk due to the absence of falls risk cues (e.g. ,arm band, patient room signage, health records flag).
• Inconsistent reporting of fall incidents.

A fall in hospital can unfortunately lead to serious injuries, disability and even death. If you or a loved has recently had a fall while in hospital, you should contact an experienced medical malpractice lawyer for advice and recommendations.