How Expert Witness Evaluate Liability for Falls?

Many states have regulations that govern who is qualified to act as a liability expert.

A combination of recent or current clinical practice that matches the clinical setting where the fall occurred, excellent communication skills, and analytical ability, make a strong expert witness. Several states now have regulations that state that nursing expert witness should be evaluating the standard of care for nursing cases.

There are so many factors that could cause a fall, but from a liability perspective, the issue that is of high concern for attorneys, risk managers, expert witnesses and insurance carriers is which of those falls could have been prevented.

The questions below assume the fall occurred within a healthcare facility. Which falls should have been prevented by the actions of either the healthcare providers or the people who designed the environment in which the fall occurred?

• Was the patient identified as being at risk for falls?
• How was that risk communicated to others?
• Were measures implemented to prevent the fall?
• Was the call light at the bedside utilized to call for assistance?
• Was the patient capable of using the call bell?
• Was the bed in its lowest position?
• Were lights on in the room or under the bed to help light the area at night?
• Was the new plan implemented to minimize the opportunity for other falls to occur?
• Was the patient given anti-skid slippers?
• Is it possible to determine how soon the individual was found after he had sustained a fall?
• What was done at the time of the fall?
• Was the patient appropriately monitored after the fall to detect injuries?
• What did the assessment reveal?
• Did the nurse communicate the findings to the physician?
• Were X-rays ordered and performed?
• Was there an injury and how soon was that injury treated?
• If the patient fell and hit his head, was the chart reviewed, was the individual on anti-coagulation blood thinner such as Heparin or Coumadin?
• Was this communicated to the physician so that head scans could be performed to see if there was some type of bleed in the head?
• Was there a change in mental status after the fall?
• What were the vital signs?
• Were there specific conditions which contributed to the fall?
• Was the person assessed and monitored?
• What medications had the patient received prior to the fall? Did they have side effects that could have contributed to the fall?
• Was the patient’s risk for falls identified after the fall and the plan of care changed?

Med League provides medical expert witnesses to trial lawyers. Please call us at (908)788-8227 or contact us today to discuss your next case.