$900,000 Recovery for Doctor Struck by Hospital Door

The family of an 84-year-old physician brought suit against the hospital where he once had worked when his walker was struck by an automatic door and caused him to fall backwards.

The suit alleged that the door was not properly inspected and serviced on a regular basis, and, had it been – it would have been discovered that the automatic door sensors were not properly set to detect all persons walking through the doors. As a result, the door did not detect the doctor, and, while he was walking through the door while it was open, it began to close on him – striking the walker. (The physician had been using a walker while recovering from recent hip surgery.)

As a result of the fall, the doctor suffered a fracture of the thoracic vertebrae at T10-T11, requiring surgery with instrumentation. However, due to underlying osteoporosis, the instrumentation failed and had to be removed. Additionally, there were infection complications, ultimately resulting in numerous hospital admissions. At age 86, the doctor died from these complications.

Blume Forte partner, Michael Zerres, was able to secure a $900,000.00 settlement on behalf of the family, following a mediation.