Rehab Fall – Confidential settlement in Jefferson County

Jeff Rickard and Ben Ford resolved a case for the family of a patient who fell and died on the day he was supposed to be discharged from a rehabilitation hospital. The man was in the rehab facility for cardiac conditioning but also had diabetes that the facility was supposed to be managing. On the day he was set to go home, a nurse’s aide found that the patient had a critically low blood sugar level. Instead of calling for help from a nearby nurse, the aide left the room, leaving the patient alone. The patient fell to the floor and hit his head, causing a brain bleed. Although he was taken to UAB Hospital, he later died from his head injuries.