A 79 year old man being treated for small cell lung cancer in one lung was admitted to the hospital to drain fluid from his lung. He had just started receiving chemotherapy. Fluid was building up in the lining of his lung, known as the pleura, and he was also becoming disoriented. In order to prevent him from falling out of bed, he was put into a vest restraint. Unfortunately, when the patient was moved from the ICU to the oncology floor, the nurse and the aide neglected to tie the restraints to the bed. The patient got up, fell out of bed, hitting his head and suffering severe facial fractures.

Since he had just started chemotherapy, there was no way to stop the bleed in his brain. He remained conscious for five days before lapsing into a coma and dying two weeks later.

Cause of death: Blunt trauma to the head.

$300,000

Gerry practices law exclusively in the State of New York. Within New York he practices primarily in the following counties: New York, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island, Nassau and Suffolk. Technically, Brooklyn is known as "Kings County," and Manhattan and New York City are known as "New York County." Staten Island is known as "Richmond County." These counties make up the New York metropolitan area.