£13,000 obtained for lady who fell in hospital

Julie Crossley, a member of the Ashtons’ medical negligence team, has obtained a £13,000 settlement for the family of an elderly lady who had suffered an unwitnessed fall while in a Suffolk hospital.

Mrs S, who was in her 90s was admitted to hospital after suffering a stroke but within a few days was also having to be treated for a fractured hip having fallen while on the ward. Surgery on her hip was followed by further vascular problems requiring additional surgery. Sadly as a result of this sequence of events, her mobility was impaired. She has since died, but her death was not linked to this series of events.

Julie comments: “Too many elderly people suffer falls when in either hospital or a nursing home, and on many occasions these could have been avoided. Doing everything possible to prevent this is important given the combination of pain, suffering and the requirement for additional treatment which often follows when an elderly person falls. It is in everyone’s interest to reduce the number of these incidents.”