@article{ref1,
title="Hospital bed related fatalities: a review",
journal="Medicine, science, and the law",
year="2008",
author="Piette, Michel H. A. and Van Varenbergh, Dirk and Lambert, Willy E. and Vandekerkhove, Bart N. W. and De Letter, Els A.",
volume="48",
number="1",
pages="37-50",
abstract="All medico-legal cases of unexpected death during hospitalisation or accommodation in rest or nursing homes, which were investigated at the Department of Forensic Medicine during a 30-year-period, have been reviewed. In the majority of cases, the fatal outcome was bedrail or restraint related, but falls out of bed or from a patient hoist lift can also trigger a death. As expected, the manner of death was mainly accidental. In about 70% of cases, mechanical asphyxia (such as smothering and thoraco-abdominal compression) was substantiated as the mechanism of death. A substantial number of the patients had important medical antecedents, such as cognitive impairment due to cerebro-vascular accidents. In about half of the cases, human negligence was clearly related to the event whereas in only 15% of cases was there a technical mistake. We believe that some sudden and unexpected fatalities, due to physical restraint or other devices (such as a patient hoist lift), are under-reported because of the medico-legal implications. However, reporting such events could induce better precautions and prevent recurrences. Therefore, this study may be important not only for forensic pathologists, but also for a larger group of social workers.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0025-8024",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}