When a patient is in the hospital and receiving care from nurses, perhaps after having surgery, a certain level of patient handling may be necessary. That patient may need physical assistance with simple day-to-day tasks. Examples include:
- Helping a patient get in and out of bed
- Assisting a patient while they shower or use the restroom
- Helping a patient transfer between a chair, a bed or a wheelchair
- Lifting a patient while they are still in bed, perhaps to help them shift positions or to change the bedding
- Assisting patients as they walk from one room to the next for checkups or other aspects of aftercare
Unfortunately, mistakes made by nurses or hospital staff in these situations could lead to serious injuries. A patient who does not receive proper assistance could fall and suffer a hip fracture, a broken arm, a traumatic brain injury, a spinal cord injury or many other injuries. For a patient in a fragile condition, even an apparently minor fall could have serious consequences.
Lack of needed assistance
Another thing to keep in mind is when patients do not get the assistance that they need. For example, maybe a patient needs help getting in and out of bed every time and uses the call button when they need assistance getting to the restroom. But no one responds because the staff members are not paying close attention. The patient may eventually attempt to get to the restroom alone and suffer injuries in a fall.
In all of these situations, the patient may believe that hospital staff acted negligently and caused additional injuries. Those who have been harmed need to understand exactly what legal options they have.