On Aug. 25, 2016, plaintiff Francine Brodkin, 68, a retiree, presented to St. Joseph Hospital of Orange’s Behavior Health Services unit to treat her anxiety. She claimed that she did not have a hospital bed for the majority of her stay and that she had to spend her first night in the hospital sleeping on a sofa. Early the next morning, she allegedly fell off the sofa and sustained an injury to her right shoulder. Brodkin sued St. Joseph Hospital of Orange and its operator, St. Joseph Health System. She alleged professional negligence and elder abuse. Plaintiff’s counsel argued that the hospital’s staff violated a fall care plan that was put in place after Brodkin arrived. Brodkin received numerous medications to treat her anxiety, leaving her confused and weak. So, according to plaintiff’s counsel, a nursing interventional plan was developed to ensure Brodkin’s safety. The plan stated that staff should stay “near [the] patient at night” or keep a “close watch” on the patient. The nurse who wrote the plan testified that the wording of the plan meant that staff members had to keep Brodkin within their line of sight at all times. There were no staff members near Brodkin at the time of her alleged fall. Plaintiff’s counsel maintained that Brodkin did not receive a bed when she arrived at the facility because her assigned hospital room was full. Counsel argued that the hospital should not have admitted Brodkin if there was no available bed for her. Brodkin claimed she told the nursing staff about her fall right away, but a STAT X-ray was not ordered until two hours later and that she did not actually undergo the X-ray, which showed a fractured right shoulder, until more than 6.5 hours after the order was made. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that, according to the hospital’s policy and procedures, a STAT X-ray should have been performed within an hour of the order. Brodkin further claimed that, after the X-ray, she was placed in a geriatric chair in a hallway for 11 hours straight and that she also spent some time in a hallway during her first night at the hospital. Plaintiff’s counsel argued that Brodkin did get to go into a hospital room on the fourth and final day of her stay at St. Joseph and that Brodkin was in a hospital room or bed for only 16 hours out of the nearly 100 hours Brodkin spent at the hospital. The hospital’s staff denied having any knowledge of the alleged fall and disputed whether the fall actually occurred. Defense counsel argued that the hospital’s computer system would not let staff members accept a patient into the unit without an assigned hospital bed, but that if patients in the subject unit chose to stay or sleep in a hallway, staff members typically left them there. Defense counsel also disputed whether the wording of the fall care plan called for staff members to keep Brodkin within their line of sight at all times., Brodkin’s X-ray confirmed a comminuted, minimally displaced fracture of the proximal humerus of her right, dominant shoulder. She met with an orthopedist during her hospital stay and received a sling for her arm. After her release from St. Joseph Hospital, Brodkin underwent eight months of outpatient physical therapy. She also had follow-ups with an orthopedist during that time. She had no further treatment. Brodkin’s treating orthopedist testified that the type of fracture that Brodkin sustained requires significant force and opined that Brodkin’s fracture likely resulted from a fall. Brodkin claimed that the injury left her with arthrofibrosis, a condition in which scar tissue restricts movement of a joint. She claimed that, as a result, she can no longer raise her right arm above her shoulder, which left her unable to reach the microwave in her home. She also claimed that she needs her husband to help her with activities of daily living, including getting dressed, washing and drying her hair, and putting on makeup or deodorant. She further claimed that she used to enjoy going to the gym, but that she is now limited in the equipment she can use there. Brodkin sought recovery of $7,288.69 in past medical expenses and $1,306,725 in damages for her past and future pain and suffering. While defense counsel admitted that Brodkin had a permanent impairment, she disputed the amount of Brodkin’s damages. She also disputed whether Brodkin’s fall occurred, noting that there was no evidence or witnesses. Defense counsel also noted that the nurse who took the X-ray order wrote in her notes that Brodkin claimed she hurt her shoulder bumping into a mirror. However, Brodkin’s counsel countered that all medical experts, including the defense’s physical medicine doctor, agreed that the injury resulted from a significant amount of trauma to the shoulder, such as a fall.