Did the 'Beit Rivka' rehabilitation center fail to implement the Ministry of Health's instructions for preventing falls, thereby causing an elderly patient to fall and sustain an injury that left him bedridden?
These claims are at the heart of a multimillion-dollar lawsuit recently filed with the Tel Aviv District Court by the elderly man and his family, through attorneys Jonathan Yehosef and Avichai Yehosef.
According to the lawsuit, the elderly man, in his 80s, had until recently been living independently, despite various underlying illnesses. After two strokes, he was transferred to the Beit Rivkah Rehabilitation Center for continued rehabilitation treatment.
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According to the claim, it was already clear upon admission that this was an elderly patient, with mobility limitations and a tendency to fall - data that requires taking increased precautions.
But according to the allegations, the plaintiff and his family did not imagine that the elderly man's rehabilitation would be completely destroyed precisely in the institution that was supposed to contribute so much to his return to a normal life.
According to Attorney Yehosef, a 2019 Ministry of Health circular requires medical institutions to proactively identify patients at risk of falling, conduct an assessment prior to their admission to hospital, identify the risk, and implement an intervention plan that includes environmental adjustments and appropriate supervision. The circular emphasizes the serious danger inherent in repeated falls and the significant - and sometimes fatal - damage that may result from them.
However, according to the prosecution, at the Beit Rivkah rehabilitation center, no risk assessment was performed on the elderly man, no organized prevention plan was formulated for him, and no supervision measures were taken that were appropriate to his condition.
The elderly man arrived at the rehabilitation center after two strokes. According to the lawsuit, the staff, aware of the risk of falling, tried to tie him to his bed with sheets, but gave up the attempt shortly after - without any other mandatory procedure being taken to prevent falls. The bed was not placed near the nurses' station for supervision, and the safety rails adjacent to the bed were not raised to prevent him from falling from it.
It is alleged that on the day of the incident, after one of the staff members had attended to him and left the room, the elderly man remained in his bed without eye contact with a staff member for an extended period of time. The handrails intended to prevent falls were not in place, and he was left alone, despite his condition and the known risk.
When the elderly man felt that he was losing stability, he began calling for help and repeatedly pressed the emergency button. According to the lawsuit, no one responded to his calls for a long time. Only after his calls were not answered did he become dizzy, fall out of bed and break his left hip.
According to Attorney Yehosef, the incident occurred in the absence of supervision, and in the absence of a response to distress calls that were made in real time.
After the fall, the elderly man was rushed to the hospital, but even after his release from the hospital, it was alleged, no satisfactory steps were taken at Beit Rivka to extend his rehabilitation hospitalization and to adapt a protected therapeutic framework for his continued recovery. His requests and those of his family to extend the hospitalization were rejected, despite a medical recommendation for continued rehabilitation. According to the allegation, no re-examination of his condition was conducted and no therapeutic alternatives were considered in a substantive manner, and he was released without a full response to his complex rehabilitation needs.
An expert in the field of orthopedic surgery whose opinion was attached to the lawsuit describes the elderly man's difficult condition.
According to the specialist, since that incident, his condition has deteriorated significantly and continuously. The fracture in the femoral neck has left him confined to a wheelchair and completely dependent on the help of others for mobility and daily functioning. He suffers from severe chronic pain in the left pelvic and groin area, with radiation to the limb, pain that affects his ability to rehabilitate and his daily life.
In addition to the orthopedic injury, the expert determines that the elderly man has begun to suffer from significant mental deterioration, including a decline in mood, feelings of despair, and a profound impairment in the quality of life.
According to Attorney Yehosef, from a man who, prior to the incident, led an independent lifestyle and lived alone, the plaintiff completely lost his independence, and since then his life has been lived in the shadow of dependence, pain, and ongoing multi-systemic damage.
The lawsuit claims that if the Ministry of Health procedures had been fully implemented, and a thorough risk assessment had been carried out alongside taking appropriate preventive measures, the fall and its serious consequences could have been prevented.
Attorney Yehosef filed a lawsuit on behalf of the elderly man and his family with the Tel Aviv District Court, requesting that the court order Beit Rivka to compensate him for all of his physical, functional, and mental damages - past and future - in an amount not less than 2.5 million shekels.
A defense has not yet been filed.
