A pensioner who fell two storeys from a hospital balcony has been awarded £230,000 in compensation.
Dorothy Cardno, 67, was admitted to hospital after suffering a minor heart attack. Three days later, while recovering on one of the wards, she is thought to have slipped on the balcony and fallen through a gap between a protective panel and a wall of the building. As a result of her fall she suffered severe orthopaedic injuries, including a broken back.
Mrs Cardno now has to use a wheelchair for most of the time and is in constant pain.
In court it emerged that a mentally ill patient had fallen from the same balcony in January 2000. At that time, however, there had not been an investigation into the accident and a risk assessment of the ward did not take into account the possibility of a patient falling.
The judge found that prior to Mrs Cardno’s accident the doors to the balcony were kept unlocked and there were no precautionary measures in place to prevent someone from falling, whether intentionally or by accident.
The judge went on to explain that the measures required to prevent access to the balcony were relatively simple and inexpensive. Since the accident, the doors to the balcony have remained permanently locked.
A spokesman for Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust said that the management of the hospital was pleased that no blame was attached to the nursing staff regarding the level of care given to Mrs Cardno but that it intended to appeal against the decision.
