Following a surgical procedure, serious injury or an emergency medical event such as a stroke or heart attack, some patients may go to an inpatient rehabilitation facility as a halfway house between an acute care hospital and home. Patients in these facilities are presumed healthier than those needing hospital or nursing home care and generally able to undergo daily physical and occupational therapy to augment their recovery.
Unfortunately, nearly one third of these patients do not get better, but much worse because of the care they receive when the get to the rehab center. A recent government report shows that many patients suffer medication errors, infections or some other type of preventable harm instead of the care needed to move them along in their recovery.
Much like previous studies that show a quarter of hospital patients and a third of those in skilled nursing facilities suffer harm, patients in rehab facilities may be in a precarious position. In a review of medical records derived from a broad sampling of rehab injury cases, almost one quarter of the harmed patients had to be admitted to an acute care hospital due to various incidences of substandard care – nearly half attributed to serious medication errors.
People depend on professionals in rehabilitation facilities to help them recover to the fullest extent possible after undergoing surgery or being hospitalized for an injury or medical emergency. When things go wrong due to substandard care received at an inpatient rehabilitative facility, the problems may not only contribute to a patient’s death, but could very well result in many more weeks of recovery, loss of independence, or permanent disability, all of which can take an emotional and financial toll on patients and their families.
Iowa Rehabilitative Facility Injury Trial Lawyer
Put Three Decades of Experience with Negligence and Personal Injury On Your Side
If you or a family member received an Iowa rehabilitative facility injury while at an inpatient rehabilitative facility, it is important to seek the help of an experienced medical negligence and personal injury trial lawyer for guidance. Marc Humphrey is one of the most experienced Iowa medical negligence attorneys in the entire state. Marc is known among his peers for taking on some of the most difficult and complicated medical and health care negligence, birth injury and hospital error cases that have been tried to jury verdict and obtaining justice and compensation for his client’s losses. Contact Iowa medical malpractice and personal injury attorney Marc A. Humphrey for a free evaluation of all your options at 515-331-3510.
