$1.25 Million Hospital Suicide Medical Malpractice Settlement
Suicide Due to Lack of Proper Supervision in Hospital
A Chicago-area hospital agreed to pay $1,250,000 to the family of a woman who died by suicide while she was under the hospital’s medical care. The patient had first been brought to the hospital after her family found her unconscious and suffering from a serious wound that required treatment. The circumstances indicated that she had apparently taken an intentional overdose in a failed suicide attempt.
After arriving at the hospital, she was admitted for extensive treatment and medical observation. During her inpatient stay, she received care from nurses, doctors, occupational therapists, and physical therapists. About three weeks after admission, she was found hanging from a gait belt and was pronounced dead as a result of suicide.
The family had contacted other attorneys before the two-year Illinois statute of limitations expired, but they were unable to find a lawyer willing to file the case in time. Our legal team quickly reviewed the facts, investigated the circumstances, filed a lawsuit in Cook County Court, and ultimately negotiated a $1.25 million settlement for the benefit of the woman’s family.
Why Hospital Suicide-Risk Cases Require Careful Investigation
When a patient is hospitalized after an apparent suicide attempt, the hospital may have information that places the patient in a heightened-risk category. That does not mean every tragedy can be prevented. But hospitals are expected to recognize warning signs, evaluate patient safety risks, communicate those risks to the care team, and take reasonable precautions based on the patient’s medical and psychiatric needs.
In cases involving suicide or self-harm during hospitalization, the investigation often focuses on what the hospital knew, when it knew it, and what it did in response. Important questions may include whether the patient was properly screened, whether suicide risk was reassessed during the admission, whether staff understood the level of risk, whether orders for observation were followed, and whether dangerous items or environmental risks were addressed.
Hospital Duties When a Patient May Be a Danger to Herself
Hospitals caring for patients who may be at risk of self-harm must consider both medical needs and safety needs. A patient may require a medical bed, therapy, monitoring equipment, mobility assistance, or other hospital care, while also requiring precautions to reduce the risk of self-harm. The challenge is to provide necessary treatment while also taking reasonable steps to protect the patient from foreseeable danger.
Depending on the circumstances, appropriate measures may include suicide-risk screening, mental-health assessment, physician orders for closer observation, one-to-one monitoring, removal of items that may be used for self-harm, visitor-item review, safe transport procedures, documentation of safety plans, and staff communication during shift changes. When these safeguards are missing or poorly implemented, preventable harm may occur.
Medical Malpractice Issues in Hospital Supervision Cases
A hospital suicide case may involve medical malpractice when doctors, nurses, therapists, or hospital staff fail to follow accepted safety practices for a patient who presents a known or knowable risk of self-harm. The issue is not simply that the patient died in a hospital. The legal question is whether the hospital and its staff had information that required additional precautions and whether failures in care contributed to the death.
These cases often require a detailed review of medical records, hospital policies, safety assessments, staff communications, and expert opinions. Families may need to evaluate how medical negligence can be proven, including whether the hospital breached the applicable standard of care and whether that breach caused or contributed to the fatal outcome.
Emergency Care, Admission Records, and Early Warning Signs
The earliest hospital records can be especially important. When a patient arrives after being found unconscious, injured, or suspected of attempting self-harm, the emergency department and admission process may contain key information about suicide risk, mental-health history, medication use, family concerns, injuries, statements by the patient, and the need for observation.
Although every case is different, issues involving emergency room negligence may become relevant when warning signs are missed, not documented, not communicated, or not acted upon before the patient is moved to another unit. The care team’s knowledge at admission may help determine what safety precautions should have been in place later during hospitalization.
Gait Belts, Ligature Risks, and Patient-Safety Precautions
A gait belt is often used by health care workers to help patients move, stand, transfer, or participate in therapy. In many hospital settings, it is a routine piece of patient-care equipment. But in the wrong circumstances, ordinary hospital items can become dangerous if a patient is known to present a heightened risk of self-harm.
That is why hospitals must evaluate risk in context. The issue is not simply whether an item is normally used for care. The issue is whether the patient’s condition, history, behavior, setting, and supervision needs required additional precautions. In a hospital-suicide case, the availability of a potentially dangerous item may become important evidence when combined with a known or knowable risk of self-harm.
Evidence That May Matter in a Hospital Suicide Case
Hospital-suicide malpractice cases often depend on detailed records and timelines. The evidence may show whether the hospital recognized the patient’s risk, whether the care team communicated that risk, and whether the patient was monitored in a manner consistent with her condition.
- Emergency department records and admission notes;
- suicide-risk screening forms and psychiatric assessments;
- physician orders for observation, precautions, or mental-health consultation;
- nursing notes, flow sheets, and monitoring records;
- therapy notes involving gait belts, mobility assistance, or transfer equipment;
- shift-change communications and handoff records;
- hospital policies on suicide precautions and patient observation;
- room-safety checks and documentation of removed or permitted items;
- incident reports and internal investigation materials, where obtainable;
- deposition testimony from nurses, physicians, therapists, and hospital staff.
Legal Help After a Hospital Suicide or Self-Harm Death
Cases involving suicide during hospitalization are emotionally devastating and legally complex. Families often have urgent questions about what the hospital knew, whether their loved one was properly supervised, and whether safety precautions were followed. These cases may require rapid investigation before records are lost, memories fade, or legal deadlines expire.
When hospital negligence contributes to a patient’s death, the case may also involve a wrongful death claim. Since 1990, Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC has represented injured people and families in Chicago and throughout Illinois. If your family has questions about a death involving hospital negligence, patient supervision, suicide risk, or self-harm precautions, contact us for a free case evaluation at (312) 243-9922 or contact us online.
