Visitor Question

Concussion from Falling and Hitting My Head at the Doctor’s Office…

Submitted By: Michelle (Torrance, California)

While at Dr’s office I was light headed and dizzy. The Dr had me lie down, feet up, and gave me glucose to help with the light headedness. The nurse came in a few minutes later to give me an injection to help with the nausea from the light headedness. She had me stand up to inject my hip. While standing I told her I didn’t feel right and went on to pass out. She did nothing to prevent my fall and i fell and hit my head.

I now have a vestibular concussion which prompted terrible vertigo. I can’t sleep on my back or right side without getting dizzy and nauseas. The neurologist I am seeing said that it may never go completely away. I also have headaches daily and blurred vision during those times. Do I have a case to pursue?

Disclaimer: Our response is not formal legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is generic legal information based on the very limited information provided. Do not rely upon the information in our response, or anywhere else on this site, when deciding the proper course of a legal matter. Always get a personalized case review from a local attorney.

Answer

Dear Michelle,

In order to sue your doctor, nurse or staff for your injuries, you must meet each prong of a negligence cause of action.

First, the party must owe you a duty and unfortunately, this is where you may have a problem. Whether a nurse who is administering medication owes you a duty to prevent your fall depends almost solely on whether or not your fall was foreseeable. This is not in the realm of medical malpractice, because you are certainly not saying that she was negligent in the procedure itself, but rather in the fact that you were light headed and fell as a result.

Assuming that you were able to establish that the nurse owed a duty, the second prong is breach. This may also be problematic because the nurse’s actions, standing alone, were not negligent. The third prong is causation (i.e. establishing that the breach actually caused your damages).

And the last prong is damages, which you have apparently suffered. While it is unfortunate that you are in this degree of pain, it is unlikely that your doctor or his/her nurse was negligent in your care.

Learn more here: Physician Malpractice Claims

The above is general information. Laws change frequently, and across jurisdictions. You should get a personalized case evaluation from a licensed attorney.

Find a local attorney to give you a free case review here, or call 888-972-0892.

We wish you the best with your claim,

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