Why do you have to leave a hospital in a wheelchair?

Safety: Falls are a leading cause of injury, leading to risk of impaired quality of life and even death. Patients may be intolerant of sustained standing and walking due to bedrest, inactivity, illness and bed rest during stay. New medications may have been started and could cause side effects such as dizzyness. Wheelchair helps to avoid falls until safely in car and emphasize being careful at home.

Cautionary: Hospitals are very cautious about people getting hurt leaving the hospital. People are often weak and sometimes dizzy after a hospitalization so to be safe the hospitals wheel people out in a chair and make sure they get safely into their car. Having an injury on hospital property puts them at risk for being sued so they are just being cautious.