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What you need to know about nursing malpractice

On Behalf of | Oct 25, 2022 | Medical Malpractice |

When you go to the hospital you expect to receive safe and effective treatment. Although you might receive that kind of care in most instances, the sad reality is that medical malpractice is more common than many people realize.

Despite the fact that much of this malpractice is attributable to errant doctors, most people overlook the prevalence of nursing malpractice, which can be just as harmful as malpractice perpetrated by a doctor. Thousands of these cases are filed each year, too, with many of them leading to large recoveries for patients who were injured.

How does nursing malpractice occur?

Just as with other forms of malpractice, nursing malpractice can take many forms. Generally speaking, though, nursing malpractice occurs when a nurse fails to live up to professional standards and causes an injury as a result. With that in mind, any of the following may constitute negligence and thus nursing malpractice:

  • Improper administration of medication
  • Medication dosing errors
  • Failing to timely call for help when an emergency arises
  • Causing injury to a patient when using medical equipment such as a catheter
  • Improper entering medical notes
  • Causing a patient fall

There are other ways that nurses may commit malpractice. So, if you suspect that you were improperly treated, then you should dig deeper into the matter to see if the nurse’s actions or inactions breached the applicable standard of care.

This can require a lot of work on your end, of course, as you’ll have to assess your medical records, speak to witnesses, and maybe even contact a medical expert to determine how the nurse would have acted if he or she were performing his or her duties in accordance with professional standards.

Who can you sue if you’ve been injured by nursing malpractice?

If you’ve been injured by nursing malpractice, then you’re probably trying to figure out how you’re going to offset your losses. These damages might include physical, emotional, and financial losses that are debilitating. To prevent your life from becoming derailed by the harm that’s been caused to you, you need to know how to build a robust medical malpractice claim.

But who can you sue when you’re harmed by a nurse’s malpractice? First of all, you can sue the nurse directly for his or her negligent actions or inactions. You might also be able to file a claim against the hospital that employed the nurse. Filing this claim against the hospital might give you better access to the resources that you need to offset your losses.

However, before you can succeed on one of these claims, you’ll have to demonstrate that the nurse was in fact employed at the hospital, that he or she was performing assigned duties at the time of your medical mishap, and that there was no independent doctor who was unaffiliated with the hospital who was in charge of the nurse at that time.

Don’t forget, too, that you might be able to file a claim against the doctor who was supervising the nurse at the time of the incident.

Are you ready to build your nursing malpractice case?

If you can successfully pursue a malpractice claim, then you might be able to recover the compensation that you need to offset your medical expenses and lost wages. It can also help you obtain a sense of accountability and closure. If obtaining those goals sounds like something that you’d like to accomplish, then you might want to have a legal advocate by your side as you navigate the process.

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