Hospital Fall After Pain Injections

Radding v. University of Maryland Rehabilitation and Orthopaedic Institute

This medical malpractice case was filed by an Annapolis man in Baltimore City on January 27, 2017. It is the 46^th medical malpractice case filed in Maryland in 2017.

Summary of Plaintiff's Allegations

Plaintiff receives therapeutic injections in his lower back at defendant Kernan Hospital in Baltimore City. After the injections are administered, defendant radiology technician/nurse tells plaintiff to stand up from his chair-bed in the recovery room, without offering to assist him.

Plaintiff attempts to follow these instructions, not knowing that the injection affects his ability to stand and his coordination. While he tries to stand, he suffers a hard fall. This fall causes him to sustain a right knee injury, an injury to his coccyx, whiplash, and a brain injury. Plaintiff alleges these injuries resulted in debilitating headaches, convergence insufficiency, and light-induced pain in his eyes.

Plaintiff has attempted to treat these injuries, but is not having much success. He alleges they are permanent and affect his ability to work.

Additional Comments

• There is no expert report filed with the Complaint and the lawsuit does not specify what type of injections the patient was receiving. But it may be a challenge to argue that the standard of care was breached because the tech did not help the patient up after injections. Where would the standard of care end? Do you have to walk a patient to the car? It is hard to glean the facts with a vaguely worded complaint without an expert report but this case could have some challenges. But if the injuries are as plaintiff's lawyer alleges, the damages are significant.
• Nerve block injections can cause weakness, numbness or lightheadedness. So the argument is that the hospital should make sure the patient does not feel these symptoms. That is the way to make this case work.
• The hospital will turn this back on the patient. Did you report any symptoms to the tech? If you felt these symptoms, why did you try to get up?
• Ultimately, the question is what is the standard of care for patients getting these specific (unknown to us) injections? Are hospitals violating the standard of care by failing to make an appropriate fall risk assessment, failing to implement reasonable fall precautions and failing to maintain reasonable fall precautions after getting these injections?

Jurisdiction

• Baltimore City

Defendants

• James Lawrence Kernan Hospital Inc., University of Maryland Rehabilitation and Orthopaedic Institute
• A radiology tech

Hospitals Where Patient was Treated

• James Lawrence Kernan Hospital Inc., University of Maryland Rehabilitation and Orthopaedic Institute

Negligence

• Failure to properly assess plaintiff's condition
• Failure to take a thorough medical history
• Failure to adequately recognize the underlying risk factors of the injections
• Improperly instructing plaintiff to stand up without providing him a walker or assistance

Specific Counts Pled

• Medical Malpractice

Plaintiff's Experts and Areas of Specialty

• None at this time

Getting a Lawyer for Your Hospital Malpractice Claim

Call Miller & Zois today if you have suffered an injury due to the negligence of a doctor or a hospital staff. We can help you get the compensation you deserve, as we have a long history of earning large verdicts and settlements in Maryland cases. Call us today at (800) 553-8082, or get a free case review online.

More Malpractice Claim Information

• This is a more classical hospital fall case filed in Baltimore in 2016
• Hospital fall cases are very similar to nursing home fall claims
• Information about filing a hospital malpractice claim in Maryland
• Look at some sample verdicts and settlements
• Have questions about a medical malpractice issue? Look here

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