A 48 year old Missouri man received a $1.75 million settlement after falling out of an enclosed bed in February 2007. The man was in the hospital being treated for a traumatic brain injury following a car accident. He was confused and combative due to his injuries leading hospital workers to improperly restrain the patient in an enclosed bed.
The bed contained written warnings to not use with combative patients and the in-service training at the hospital explicitly warned against using the bed in this manner. Hospital workers neglected to properly secure the zipper and when the patient tried to climb out of bed he fell headfirst onto the floor.
The patient suffered a severe skull fracture, two frontal lobe subdural hematomas and a midline shift caused by cerebral swelling. He was 42 at the time of the fall and suffers permanent loss of executive function and inhibition and can no longer work as a construction contractor.