Nursing malpractice can range from a nurse not giving the right dosage amount to giving the completely wrong drug to a patient. This is when nursing malpractice takes place; when the nurse fails to do their job correctly and creates an injury to the patient. An important thing that comes to the surface with nursing malpractice cases is, who is the one who pays for the nurse’s mistake? Is it the hospital? Or is it the doctor?
When Nursing Malpractice Takes Place
Nursing malpractice is not any different than other medical malpractices. They all revolve around the medical professional not efficiently doing their job, which drives the patient to get harmed. Just remember that every mishap that might happen in a medical setting does not imply that it was a negligence from the medical staff.
There are various instances where one can experience a nursing malpractice. Below are some of those moments:
Not Reacting When They Should Have
Nurses are the primary caregivers to patients. If they notice something wrong and do not act accordingly such as, proving the patient with a certain medication, or calling for assistance if the situation is too severe, then they can be held responsible for what might happen to the patient.
Nurses have to be continually be monitoring the patient, and have the duty to notify the doctor if they grow a concern with something they noticed, or should have noticed. If they do not do this, then they will be confined for malpractice.
Equipment Hurting the Patient
How does a nurse hurt a patient with an equipment? You might wonder. Well, this can happen in a bunch of ways. For example, the nurse knocks something on the patient, leaves a foreign equipment in the patient after an operation, or burns the patient. Any of these moments can be grounds for a malpractice claim.
Inappropriate Management of Medication
The nurse must abide by what the doctor orders the nurse to do. If the doctor tells the nurse to administer 500cc of a medication, and the nurse administers 750cc, this could injure the patient, and make the nurse liable for their mistake. Also, if the nurse does not follow proper orders like, introducing a medication to a wrong patient.
Who Pays for the Nurses Errors?
Hospital:
Nurses are almost always employees of the hospital. So, at the end of the day, it is the hospital who is punished for the nurse’s incompetence. The only ways a hospital would not pay for the nurse’s mistake is if: (1) the nurse was not employed by the hospital, or (2) the nurse was not completing a job obligation at the time of the injury, or (3) an independent doctor was supervising the nurse.
Doctor:
The only way a doctor would not be responsible for a nurse’s actions is if they are not supervising them at that time. If that occurs, then it is the hospitals duty to pay for the nurse’s mistakes. The only ways an attending doctor could be responsible is if: (1) they were present when the mistake happened, and (2) they could have prevented it from happening.
The argument of whether the doctor could have prevented the situation is in the middle of the hospital and the doctor. It is just to determine who will pay for the damages. There are times where a hospital might still have to pay even though the nurse was being supervised by the doctor. This can happen when a nurse follows an order given to them that they knew was unprofessional, but they still went ahead and obeyed the orders.
Do You Need an Expert Witness for Nurse Malpractice?
The answer to that is yes. The same rules that govern a doctor malpractice, applies to a nurse’s malpractice. The injured party and the defendant would have to bring their experts to testify of what another nurse would have, or would not have done in the same circumstance. The expert witness must be qualified, and not someone out of the nurse’s field.
Did a Nurse Cause Your Trauma in Miami?
Whether you are unsure if it was the nurse, or the doctor, and even the hospital who needs to pay for your harms, we will be the determining factor for your claim. In our law firm, we have managed incalculable cases of nurses negligently hurting a patient through their actions. We are masters at taking action against those liable. We aim for the maximal reimbursement for what was done to you, and help in making this difficult time easier for you. Do not holdup in communicating with a personal injury attorney. We need justice for you as soon as possible! Dial our number today: (305) 529-0001.