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Is the hospital negligent? My mom is still in the hospital going on 24 days, diluidid for pain, it was clear on her X-ray before surgery that she had degenerative shoulder findings, but no fracture indicated until after hip surgery.

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You need to know how the fractures occurred. If she fell getting out of bed on her own, it’s not on the hospital. If someone was transferring her and attempted to lift her incorrectly, they definitely could have caused the fractures. This should have an incident report. I’m sorry this happened, no matter how and hope she will recover from such an unfortunate event
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Reply to Daughterof1930
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It sounds as if someone tried to lift her by grabbing under her shoulders. This is one reason we use gait belts even just for sit to stand assistance. If her shoulders already showed degenerative changes, this could definately cause a shoulder fracture. This is evident by the fact both shoulders were fractured at the same time. Look further into transfer techniques used in the facility and use of gait belts. Lifting under the arms can be harmful even in healthy shoulders. This could be negligence. PT
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Reply to Sandra2424
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How did she get the fracture? This is the critical piece of information an attorney would need to know in order to determine whether there was negligence.

How to find out (from ChatGPT5.5):

Ask the attending physician directly:"What do you believe caused the shoulder fractures?"

"When do you think they occurred?"

"Are these fractures consistent with a fall, a transfer injury, osteoporosis, or something else?"

Ask to speak with the nurse manager for the unit where she was recovering after surgery:

Was there any documented fall, even an "assisted fall"?
Did she slide out of bed or a chair?
Was there any difficult transfer using a lift or several staff members?
Was an incident report completed?

Request the medical records, including:
Nursing notes.
Physical therapy notes.
Occupational therapy notes.
Physician progress notes.
Operative report.
Radiology reports (before and after surgery).

Medication administration records.
These often contain entries such as:
"Patient complained of new shoulder pain after transfer..."
"Patient found on floor..."
"During PT..."
"Unable to move left arm..."

Those details can establish when the injury likely occurred.

Ask when the shoulder pain first appeared. If she woke up from anesthesia already complaining of severe shoulder pain, that's a different timeline than if it started several days later after therapy or a transfer.

Request a copy of the incident report if the hospital acknowledges there was a fall or other event. Be aware that in many states, hospitals treat internal incident reports as confidential quality-improvement documents and may not release them, but it's still worth asking.

Ask the orthopedic surgeon who diagnosed the fractures:
"Do these fractures look acute?"
"Do they appear consistent with trauma?"
"Could they have occurred during positioning for surgery?"
"Would osteoporosis alone explain bilateral fractures?"

Red flags that deserve further investigation

The patient was fine before surgery, then immediately had severe shoulder pain.
Staff cannot explain when or how the fractures occurred.
The story changes depending on whom you ask.
There is a gap in the medical record.
There was a fall or difficult transfer that wasn't disclosed until later.
If you're concerned about negligence

Don't rely only on verbal explanations. Obtain the records while the hospitalization is still fresh. If the records suggest an unexplained injury or a preventable event, an attorney who handles medical negligence can review them—many will do an initial review at no charge.

One caution: even if the fractures occurred during hospitalization, that does not by itself prove negligence. Frail older adults with severe osteoporosis can sustain fractures from relatively minor trauma, and some injuries can occur despite appropriate care. The key is understanding what happened, when it happened, and whether the care met the expected standard.

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Reply to Geaton777
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