The Role of the Nurse in Medical Malpractice Litigation

It is not uncommon for a hospital patient to have more interaction with the nursing staff than with their attending physician.

While it is the doctor’s job to diagnose and treat your ailment, more often than not, it is the nurse who carries out most of the orders. From drawing blood to dispensing medication, a nurse’s duties are vast, and they are just as responsible for your health and well being as any other medical professional working on your case. Their standard of care is the same as any doctors. If you received further injury by a nursing error, speak with a qualified Missouri medical malpractice attorney. If it is found that the nurse taking care of you acted outside of the realm of accepted care, then you may be entitled to compensation.

Long Working Hours and Fatigue

One of the main factors contributing to nursing errors is fatigue. Many shifts go well past the eight hour mark as emergency situations arise, causing nurses to work while over tired.

The biggest legal claim against nurses is a failure to alert the treating physician of a change in the patient’s condition. Nurses are trained to take and evaluate vital signs to assess the progress of a patient. If something is amiss and they neglect to tell the doctor, the patient could suffer a new injury, or the one he is being treated for can be exacerbated. Standard protocol dictates that any change be communicated as soon as possible, even if it means waking the doctor in the middle of the night.

Administration of Medications

The other claim found against nurses is with the dispersion of medications. Either the wrong drug is administered or the wrong dosage. In either case the results could be deadly.

In a case involving gross negligence on behalf of the nursing staff at a local hospital, a $1.4 million settlement was reached for a man who almost died of respiratory distress after a nurse failed to act appropriately in response to his known risk of aspiration. In the length of time it finally took the nurse to call in a doctor, the man suffered irreversible brain damage from lack of oxygen.

Establishing a Standard of Care

In order for a medical malpractice lawsuit to be successful against a nurse, a Missouri medical malpractice attorney must first establish some essential criteria. There needs to be proof that the nurse charged had a direct relationship with the patient. He will also have to show the nurse deviated from the scope of established procedures. At this point in the process, a medical professional is called in to testify how they would have reacted differently under the same set of circumstances. The final point to be made would be to show how that act directly caused the injury.

In order to maintain the integrity of our community hospitals, it is important to hold the nursing staff responsible for their actions. If you have received further injury from the mistake of a nurse, call Zevan and Davidson Law Firm at (314) 588-7200 and allow us to review your case and help you determine if you are indeed entitled to compensation.

Photo credit:  British Red Cross