The Hippocratic oath tells doctors, “First, do no harm.” Well, they apparently haven’t heard that advice in the Nutmeg State.
An elderly woman has filed suit against a Connecticut hospital, alleging that she sustained traumatic brain injury (TBI) when she fell off an operating table following surgery, according to the Associated Press.
Florence Fiedler, 81, of New Canaan, Conn., is suing Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven Superior Court. According to her lawsuit, she had a pacemaker put in February 2010 at the medical facility, and then fell off the operating table after the procedure, AP reported.
She sustained a number of injuries in the fall, including a TBI where she had bleeding under her skull, her lawyer told AP.
Fiedler’s lawsuit alleges that the hospital was negligent for failing to have procedures in place that would have prevented her from falling. In addition, the suit charges that hospital staff should have seen that she was still under the influence of the drugs she got during her surgery, putting her at a greater risk of falling, according to AP.
In addition, the lawsuit alleges that the hospital is liable because it left Fiedler, a retired FBI administrator, unattended in the OR, and didn’t lower the operating table so she could position herself to get off, AP reported.
Because of her brain injuries, Fiedler is now a shut-in, and had to be taught to walk and talk agan. Once an active traveler, she can’t even drive a car now.
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