Phila. nursing home named in med mal claim by patient who suffered dislocated hip after fall

A senior citizen from Philadelphia is suing a city nursing home over claims that

negligence on the part of the defendant’s staff led to the plaintiff suffering injuries to her hip that required surgical repair.

Attorney Robin A. Feeney, of the Philadelphia firm Fine and Staud LLP, filed the medical malpractice complaint Sept. 1 at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on behalf of Ida Perry.

The defendant named in the case is Philadelphia-based Bala Nursing and Retirement Center.

The complaint states that Perry, at the time 73 years old, suffered a stroke in early June 2011 that required her to be hospitalized at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania from June 3 to June 14 of that year.

Following her stay at the hospital, Perry was transported to Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, at which time she also received diagnoses of chronic controlled hypertension, hyperlipulema, history of anemia, a urinary tract infection, chronic iron deficiency and hip arthroscopy and hip replacement, the suit states.

At Magee, Perry was recognized as a high fall risk patient deemed to require a safety alarm on her bed, safety wheel chair, and one-to-one supervision at all times.

Despite this acknowledgement, however, Perry was discovered laying on the floor in her room by her bed on July 16, 2011, in what turned out to be a fall from her bed when she attempted to remove herself without supervision, the lawsuit states.

The suit states that there are no reports of anyone witnessing Perry’s fall, although it is believed that the plaintiff was on the floor for over an hour before she was discovered by hospital staff.

The complaint alleges that Bala failed to undertake a medical examination, or failed to obtain the presence of trained medical personnel to conduct an exam of the plaintiff to determine the extent of her injuries.

As a result of this alleged negligence, the lawsuit states, Perry suffered serious physical injuries; the nursing home staff attempted to treat the plaintiff’s mental state but never attempted to ascertain whether or not Perry was suffering from any physical injuries.

Perry was eventually sent to Roxborough Memorial Hospital where on July 23, 2011, X-rays revealed that Perry had been suffering from a dislocated left total hip prosthesis, an injury requiring surgery.

An initial surgery, a closed reduction, was undertaken but was unsuccessful, the lawsuit states.

Perry underwent a second surgery, this one an open reduction, two days later, which was successful.

The lawsuit blames Bala for causing Perry to ultimately have to undergo a surgery that would have been unnecessary had she not fallen at the nursing home.

“Thus, as a direct and proximal result of Defendant’s negligence, Plaintiff suffered severe injury, including a dislocated left total hip prosthesis requiring surgery, the needless administration of medication for conditions not diagnosed, or not properly diagnosed, or misdiagnosed, and delay in proper diagnosis,” the complaint reads.

The lawsuit states that the plaintiff suffered embarrassment and humiliation, extreme physical pain and a loss of life’s pleasures as a result of the defendant’s negligence.

The complaint accuses Bala of negligence for failing to perform a proper and accurate risk assessment and provide a proper care plan upon the plaintiff’s admission to the nursing home, negligently failing to interpret Perry’s history, failing to formulate an appropriate fall prevention protocol for the plaintiff, and failing to provide the necessary level of supervision and assistance to prevent the plaintiff from falling.

Perry seeks damages in excess of $50,000.

 

The case ID number is 120902627.