At around 4 a.m. on Nov. 3, 2012, plaintiffs’ decedent Valera Hebden, 90, fell out of her bed at Antelope Valley Hospital, in Lancaster. Hebden, who was previously admitted to the hospital by her family on Oct. 31, 2012, to monitor an atrial fibrillation, sustained a fractured skull, a brain bleed in the back of her head, and a comminuted and displaced mid-shaft femur fracture. Subsequently on Nov. 11, 2012, Hebden passed away from head and brain . The Los Angeles County coroner determined that Hebden’s death was due to blunt force trauma from the fall. The decedent’s three adult children, Marcia McFeeley, David Hebden and Susan Miller, sued Antelope Valley Hospital, and Doctors Nathan, Rabati, Rahal, and Rice. The decedent’s children claimed that the defendants failed to properly monitor their father and that their failure constituted medical malpractice. The physicians had their case decided in a Kaiser binding arbitration. Thus, the matter proceeded to trial against the hospital only. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the decedent required assistance, specifically a one-person assist, when getting out of bed in the middle of the night while she was heavily medicated. Counsel argued that although nurses evaluated the decedent as a one-person assist on the day before the fall, the nurse on duty on the night of the incident did not assist the decedent because the nurse deemed the decedent to be independent, in that the nurse believed the decedent could get up on her own. Plaintiffs’ counsel further argued that the nurses at the hospital never called the paramedics or the Emergency Room Department, but just put the decedent back in the bed, without placing her in full C-spine precautions. Counsel contended that the nurses stabilized the decedent’s head, but that the rest of the decedent’s body, including the fracture of her femur, which was totally displaced and visibly broken, was not checked. The hospital’s counsel argued that a one-on-one assist is not required for patients. Specifically, counsel contended that at each shift change, the oncoming nurse is required to make her independent assessment of the patient’s status. Thus, counsel contended that the day shift nurse assessed the decedent as needing only a stand-by assist, but the oncoming nurse assessed the decedent as being independent because the decedent was awake, alert, and oriented; able to verbalize her needs; and had been getting out of bed without assistance in the presence of her daughters for days prior to the fall. However, counsel noted that the same nurse told the decedent that she preferred it if the decedent call for assistance during the night. Additionally, the hospital’s counsel argued that at the time of the accident, fall precautions were in place, including top side rails being placed up (four side rails up is considered a restraint), a call light was placed within reach, and a bedside commode, which the decedent had been using regularly, was placed nearby. In addition, counsel noted that the decedent’s room was located directly across from the nurses’ station and that nurses came around every two hours. The hospital’s counsel asserted that the fall was not witnessed, but was heard by all of the nurses on the floor, and that the nurses all arrived in the decedent’s room within seconds. Counsel also asserted that proper C-spine precautions were utilized by the six nurses placing the decedent back in bed and that the decedent suffered no injury from the transfer back to bed. In addition, counsel asserted that the decedent’s physician was in-house and immediately notified and that the nurses also called the decedent’s daughter within minutes of the accident in order to report the fall., Valera Hebden sustained a comminuted and displaced mid-shaft femur fracture and a skull fracture, resulting in a brain bleed in the back of her head. As a result, she died on Nov. 11, 2012. She was 90 years old. The decedent was survived by her adult daughters, Marcia McFeeley and Susan Miller, and adult son, David Hebden. The decedent’s children sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of their mother. During jury deliberations, the decedent’s children and the hospital established a $175,000/$50,000 high/low agreement.