Here in Virginia, I have pioneered patient fall cases in the medical malpractice arena.  Historically, they were the backorder.  Most people did not even look at them as an aspect of malpractice and those that did, did not think they carried a lot of value because typically, though not exclusively, they involve much older people.

The fact is patient falls at facilities are the leading cause of injury there.  National averages are that anywhere from at least two percent upwards of ten percent of all patients in facilities fall during their stay and of those, about 10 percent or so get serious injuries, brain injuries or hip injuries which, for the older people, basically render them bedridden for their lives.

So I have actively pursued these cases and my Riverside case that went to the Supreme Court was a very significant one and opened a lot of eyes and brought in a lot more of those cases.  The fact is that all institutions are required upon admission and at the beginning of every shift to assess each patient as a fall risk and to the extent they are a fall risk to intervene with certain safety measures, some as simple as skid-resistant slippers and lowering the bed and putting on lights; others more significant like activating bed alarms or chair alarms or even putting soft restraints on the patient like Posey vests or wrist restraints.

When the facilities fail to perform that assessment and fail to intervene properly, it is malpractice and it is a strong case.