Elderly resident suffers extensive bruising whilst being negligently hoisted in a care home

Background

We recently acted on behalf of the Estate of an elderly woman, Margaret, who was admitted to a care home following a period in hospital.

Margaret lacked capacity and her family decided that it was in her best interests for Margaret to become a permanent resident of a care home. This was due to the Margaret’s decreasing levels of mobility and other long standing health concerns leading to an increase in care needs, which could not be facilitated at home.

Upon admission, Margaret’s existing care plans informed staff at the care home of her current position with regards to mobility, notably that Margaret was bedbound and required the assistance of two carers with all movement and that she was at risk of suffering falls. The care plan recorded the fact that Margaret was at ‘high’ risk of falls, due to her past history and her decreasing mobility.

Unfortunately, no further risk assessments were carried out by the care home and the existing care plan was not reviewed.  Less than two months into her residency, care staff at the home informed Margaret’s family that there had been an accident. This involved a male member of staff attempting to move Margaret from chair to bed Margaret with the use of a hoist.

Margaret was later found to have suffered extensive bruising to her right shoulder, arm, parts of her back, and under her breasts. No explanation was given by the care home as to how Margaret’s injuries had been sustained and no apology offered.

As a result of her injuries, Margaret was admitted to hospital for treatment. Her family noticed that after the accident she became noticeably withdrawn and very distressed whenever she was being hoisted or moved by care staff at her new care home. Unfortunately, Margaret deteriorated in the months that followed, and passed away later that same year.

Representation

Margaret’s family decided to bring a claim against the negligent care home on her behalf, as they wished to make the care home accountable for Margaret’s injuries and obtain answers as to why and how Margaret was injured.

Understandably, Margaret’s family were shocked and upset by what had happened and instructed Irvings Law to find out what had happened and get answers to their many unanswered questions regarding the care offered to Margaret whilst at the care home.

Resolution

On investigation by Irvings Law It was discovered that the care home had breached their duty of care in failing to ensure that all staff followed the manual handling plan in place and specifically, the care home had failed to ensure that two carers, not one, operated the hoist at all times.

Irvings law established that staff at the care home had used the wrong hoist which was entirely unsuitable to transfer Margaret from chair to bed. As a result, Margaret was injured through inappropriate use of the hoist and her injuries were entirely preventable.

Irvings Law were able to obtain answers for Margaret’s family and we recovered compensation for Margaret’s pain and suffering and her family’s financial losses and the additional care provided to Margaret.

Contact Irvings

Irvings Law are specialists in handling claims involving care home neglect and injury and is committed to fighting neglect in care homes and securing financial compensation for victims of care home neglect.

Has your loved one been injured as a result of neglect or injury in a care home?

How much will it cost me?

We act on a ‘No Win No Fee’ basis. If your claim is successful, the costs are paid by the care home. If the claim isn’t successful, you don’t pay our costs.

Have an enquiry?

You can contact Irvings for a no obligation, confidential chat by telephone on 0151 475 1999 or use our Freephone number of 0800 954 0243 and talk to our specialist care home injury team.

Alternatively, you can submit your enquiry to us by email to info@irvingslaw.com