Woman sues hospital after fall during her stay

PRINCETON – A woman is suing over claims she was injured when she fell in a hospital and staff failed to hear her call for help.

Charlotte Pettus filed a lawsuit Aug. 20 in Mercer Circuit Court against Princeton Community Hospital Association Inc., doing business as Princeton Community Hospital, and Princeton Community Hospital, citing negligence.

According to the complaint, Pettus presented at Princeton Community Hospital with nausea and vomiting among other symptoms on July 28, 2012, after having recently undergone hip surgery, and when her granddaughter visited on July 29, 2012, she found Pettus on the floor of her room, calling for help.

The complaint states nursing staff had moved Pettus to a new room, and though she was having hallucinations and was observed trying to get out of bed while a fall risk, she was left unsupervised and her fall was not discovered until her granddaughter visited.

The defendants are accused of negligence in failing to utilize proper devices to prevent a fall or recognize that a fall had taken place.

Pettus is seeking compensatory damages and costs.

She is being represented in the case by attorney Henry E. Wood III in Charleston.

Mercer Circuit Court Case No. 14-C-480-WS