Top Ranked Erie, Pennsylvania, Dropped Patient Injury Lawyers

Jed Dietrich, Esq. is Committed to Defending the Rights of Injured Patients Across Pennsylvania. If You or a Loved One Suffered Serious Injuries After Being Dropped in a Healthcare Facility, You Deserve Aggressive Representation and an Attorney Willing to Fight for Your Rights in Court.

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Medical providers and nursing home staff are held to a high standard, and for good reason: when patients are admitted to healthcare facilities, they are often already in an incredibly vulnerable position. When someone has sustained a serious injury, is struggling against mental illness, or is suffering medication-related side effects, they may not be able to control their body and make reasonable, well-informed decisions. Since hospital patients and nursing home residents often rely on caregivers to meet their basic needs, they may not have any choice but to trust that the staff has their best interests at heart.

While many medical providers are seasoned professionals with years of training and experience, accidents still happen with alarming regularity. Sometimes, routine miscalculations and simple mistakes in patient transportation can cause serious and even life-altering injuries. For young children and elderly adults, a drop, a slip, or a fall during assisted patient transportation can inflict irreversible damage.

Medical care and assisted living facilities are already expensive. If you or a loved one have been injured in a patient transportation accident that was not your fault, you may find yourself burdened not only by the condition that put you in the hospital but the expenses incurred by a subsequent fall. Fortunately, you have options beyond insolvency.

Since our founding in 2005, the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. has provided unparalleled personal injury service to our clients across Erie and Western Pennsylvania. Our experienced team of attorneys understands that accidents have consequences beyond physical pain and unexpected medical expenses. Please send us a message online or call us at 814-839-3939 to schedule your free, no-obligation consultation.

What Is A Dropped Patient Accident?

Erie, Pennsylvania, has some of the best hospitals in Northwestern Pennsylvania, including the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center Hamot and St. Vincent Hospital-Erie. However, accidents can happen even in top-ranked medical facilities. Each year, up to 1 million Americans fall or are dropped in hospitals across the country. About 250,000 patients are injured in these falls, and an estimated 11,000 are killed. Patients may be dropped in the following types of situations:

1. Transfers from wheelchairs to beds, and vice versa;
2. Patient transfers between rooms;
3. Patient transfers to restrooms and other hospital facilities; and
4. Patient transfers to and from emergency vehicles.

Since hospital falls remain a serious and recurring problem, researchers have long sought to find a solution to prevent these avoidable injuries. In general, hospital falls and drops are influenced by the following:

1. Intrinsic Factors: Intrinsic factors refer to how a patient’s unique condition affects their risk of sustaining injuries after a fall or a drop. For example, patients of advanced age who take sedative medications may have diminished cognitive faculties and reduced motor coordination.
2. Extrinsic Factors: Extrinsic factors, or environmental factors, refer to specific environmental risks. In hospitals and in nursing homes, poorly-trained staff, low staff-to-patient ratios, and the inadequate or incorrect use of bed railings can increase the probability of patient transportation accidents.

Dropped patient accidents are usually, but not always, the result of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. However, a patient’s advanced age, physical injury, or cognitive disability does not absolve a healthcare facility of liability. In general, medical providers are expected to provide reasonable accommodations for patients, including patients with special needs. A healthcare provider or medical device manufacturer could be held liable for the injuries sustained in a dropped patient accident if:

1. A staff member failed to use or check patient restraints;
2. A staff member failed to use a bed railing properly;
3. A wheelchair, moving bed, or other transportation device was poorly maintained;
4. A wheelchair, moving bed, or other transportation device was defective; or
5. The hospital knew or should have known that an individual patient suffered from a condition affecting their mobility.

When hospitals, medical professionals, and support staff negligently injure the same patients they are entrusted to protect, they could be held liable for their misconduct. The Dietrich Law Firm P.C. has spent decades aggressively advocating for the victims of medical transportation accidents in and around Erie, Pennsylvania. Please call us at 814-839-3939 to schedule your free consultation.

Common Dropped Patient Accidents And Injuries

Most patient falls and drops do not result in significant or long-term injuries. However, certain classes of patients are more vulnerable to the effects of a sudden drop than others. In general, the following patients are more likely to sustain serious injuries during or after a dropped patient accident:

1. Newborn infants;
2. Elderly adults; and
3. Seriously injured persons.

Common patient transportation accident injuries include, but are not limited to:

1. Cuts and lacerations;
2. Bruises and contusions;
3. Broken or fractured bones;
4. Hip, tailbone, and femur injuries;
5. Facial injuries;
6. Dental injuries;
7. Traumatic brain injuries;
8. Spinal cord injuries;
9. Internal organ damage; and
10. Wrongful death.

Since most medical patients have pre-existing health conditions, a transportation accident could exacerbate existing injuries. Older adults and newborn infants have an elevated risk of incurring potentially irreversible injuries, which could range from chronic brain damage to permanent physical disabilities.

Your Potential Damages After A Dropped Patient Accident

The Dietrich Law Firm P.C. could help you recover damages for:

1. Your past, present, and expected medical expenses;
2. Physical therapy;
3. Corrective surgery;
4. Assisted living costs;
5. Lost income from work;
6. Diminished earning potential;
7. Emotional pain and suffering;
8. Loss of enjoyment;
9. Disability; and
10. Wrongful death.

Now is your chance to ascertain justice. Please send the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. a message online or call us at 814-839-3939 to speak to a legal professional and schedule your 100% free initial consultation.

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Call the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. immediately at 814-839-3939 so that our aggressive, tenacious, and hardworking personal injury lawyers can fight to obtain the best result for your personal injury claim in Erie, Pennsylvania. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and there is never a fee until we WIN for you!

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