Nursing Errors on the Rise in Hospitals Around the Country

By Rasansky | McKenzie Law

Medical malpractice as a result of nursing errors is unfortunately on the rise in the United States. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing confirms this as an increasing number of nurses receive disciplinary actions for nursing errors. In fact, the number of disciplined nurses increased from 3,172 in 1996 to 7,899 in 2006.

Moreover, in an investigation conducted by the Chicago Tribune researchers discovered that at least 9,548 hospital patients have been injured and 1,720 hospital patients have died due to nursing errors. This investigation also found that many of the mistakes occurred because of financial reasons. InjuryBoard.com noted numerous hospitals increasingly rely on low paid nurses’ aids. These nurses’ aids, due to budget constraints, are doing the work that registered nurses used to complete.
Some of the most common medical malpractice mistakes that are caused by nurses according to the Institute of Medicine include:

• Giving a patient a wrong dose of a certain medicine
• Giving a drug to the incorrect patient
• Giving the incorrect medication to a patient
• Not monitoring a patient’s condition – such as not measuring blood glucose levels, vitals, neurological status etc.
• Failing to update a doctor on a patient’s condition
• Performing a certain medical procedure on a patient without the right training
• Not giving a patient necessary care for hours
• Not following a physician’s orders when it comes to providing the proper care for a patient
• Not using a medical device in the correct manner
• Not obtaining informed consent from a patient

Patient problems that are caused by nursing errors.

As a result of this malpractice, patients could suffer from a disability, chronic pain, a deformity, or the patients could require additional hospitalization or medical procedure to undo the original mistake. Death of a patient could also result due to medical malpractice by a nurse.

Patients need to prove their claims.

Patients need to prove that a nursing mistake did in fact occur and that the standard of care that the patient received was below the standard of care that other nurses would have given to patients in similar situations.
Also, it is important to realize that medical malpractice that are caused by nursing errors do have a statute of limitations imposed on them. Thus, a potential plaintiff only has a certain timeframe in which to launch a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Consequently, if someone you know, or yourself, has suffered due to medical malpractice caused by a nursing error, you could be eligible to seek monetary compensation to compensate for pain and suffering – not to mention your medical costs. Call us or complete our form today to discover if our Dallas medical malpractice attorneys can help you learn about your legal rights regarding this unfortunate situation.

About the Author

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