Nurse Malpractice

Medical Malpractice

Numerous reports have been made over the past decade, regarding the incidents of medical mistakes occurring in the United State. In 1999, a report by the Institute of Medicine stated about 98,000 deaths a year was caused by medical errors that could have been prevented. A follow up study in 2006 revealed that mistakes in medication affect more than one million people annually and hundreds of thousands more are injured by medical errors. In fact, the IOM explains the number of medical mistakes in the U.S. an epidemic. It is important to know physicians are not the only ones responsible. Negligence may also be performed by nurses, which can result in serious patient harm or death. This is commonly referred to as nurse malpractice.

Factors that Contribute to Nurse Malpractice

Nurse malpractice has become increasingly common in recent years, in part because of a severe shortage of trained nurses to staff hospitals and other healthcare facilities. The problems that arise as a result of nurse staffing shortages are a couple:

  1. Nurses are required to work longer shifts. However, becoming fatigued is a result of working longer hours, which increases the risk of medical errors. In 2004, there was a study that showed a major increase in nurse malpractice when working over 12.5 hours.
  2. Hospitals and healthcare facilities are more likely to hire unlicensed/unregulated nurse aides to fill the need left by a shortage of registered and licensed practical nurses.

Another factor that contributes to nurse malpractice is miscommunication. Although miscommunication is rarely intentional, the results can be harmful and deadly.

Common Types of Nurse Malpractice

There are numerous types of nurse malpractice, but some of the most common include:

  • Failing to follow doctor’s orders
  • Failing to monitor a patient or care for a patient when necessary
  • Dispensing the wrong drug, the wrong dose of drug or a drug to the wrong patient
  • Carrying out medical procedures without the necessary qualifications

Any of these errors can result in potentially fatal consequences, including:

  • Organ damage
  • Drug toxicity
  • Cardiac arrest
  • Infection
  • Coma

Have You Been Injured by Nurse Malpractice?

Medical professionals have an obligation to give their patients a standard level of medical attention and nurses are one of these professionals. When a nurse is negligent, the victim of this incident has legal rights.

A victim can seek compensation depending on the circumstance and they can recover medical expenses, wages lost, mental pain and more. In case death is the outcome, the victim’s family members may be able to file a lawsuit for cost of the funeral, loss of companionship, loss of support and more.

Remember, cases of nurse malpractice are subject to legal deadlines, so be sure to have your case evaluated by a professional lawyer as soon as you suspect malpractice occurred.

Contact Our Law Firm Today

For a free claim evaluation, contact the nurse malpractice attorneys at our law firm today. One of our attorneys will evaluate your case and explain your legal options.

Published by: roymcmullen on January 28th, 2010 | Filed under Legal: Medical Malpractice




One Response to “Nurse Malpractice”

  1. melanie from Narconon Says:
    February 24th, 2010 at 10:41 pm

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