Can Nurses Be Sued for Medical Malpractice?
If you have recently visited a hospital, you were most likely attended to by a nurse. If a vital reading is off, it is a nurse who will alert your treating physician. Just like doctors, nurses must adhere to a high standard of care when treating patients. Although a physician will ultimately make the diagnosis and treatment decisions for a patient’s ailments, nurses are the first line of defense in patient care.
At Parham Smith & Archenhold, our primary goal is to make our clients whole. Justice is only served by making the liable party pay for their wrongdoing. Whether due to fatigue, burnout, or a heavy workload, nurses sometimes make errors that can result in life-threatening consequences for patients. Our medical malpractice attorneys understand which situations may result in nurse liability.
Examples of Nurse Malpractice
Whether due to fatigue, burnout, or a heavy workload, nurses sometimes make errors that can cost patients their lives or cause their condition to deteriorate rapidly. Examples of when a nurse may commit medical malpractice include:
- Failing to monitor a patient’s vitals properly
- Not responding promptly to a patient’s call for help
- Administering the incorrect medication or the wrong dosage
- Failing to get a patient’s consent before administering a treatment
- Providing unclear or incomplete patient care instructions
- Failing to administer a medication on schedule
- Incorrectly administering a treatment
- Failing to update patient records
- Bringing the patient the wrong food
- Ignoring signs of bedsores
Any of these actions or omissions can cause a patient irreparable harm. This can delay or significantly impair a patient’s ability to get better. As a result, a patient will incur further medical costs that could have been prevented if only appropriate measures had been taken.
Do Nurses Need to Carry Separate Malpractice Insurance?
Similar to other medical staff, nurses must adhere to a certain level of care when treating patients. Given that the majority of patient interactions occur with nurses, nurses are more open to liability than doctors. For this reason, they must maintain medical malpractice insurance. The amount of malpractice insurance will depend on their specialty, with high-risk specialties requiring more coverage, resulting in higher premiums.
Duties Extending Beyond an Assisting Role
Not all examples of nurse malpractice involve a single party making a mistake. Nurses have a duty to question a physician’s order if they believe it is not in the patient’s best interest. For instance, if a physician gives the nurse an order to administer a medication that is contraindicated based on the patient’s medication list, the nurse should speak up.
If the nurse is unable to change the physician’s mind, they must report it to their supervisor or the charge nurse. Failure to do so will result in disciplinary action and potential legal consequences. However, in this particular situation, the doctor and hospital would also share liability for any harm the patient experiences.
Proving Nursing Malpractice in Greenville, SC
Nursing malpractice can be challenging to prove. It requires that you provide sufficient evidence to convince a judge or jury that the nurse’s negligence caused your injuries. The nurse’s conduct must directly result in the patient experiencing complications or harm. Generally, this is the most challenging element to prove. That is because your harm cannot be coincidental; instead, it needs to be tied back to the nurse’s actions.
Medical records, including any physician notes, medical imaging, and discharge instructions, may be used to prove where a nurse strayed from the expected standard of care. Testimony from other providers or medical staff who witnessed the incident may also be used. Expert witnesses may be called in to testify on how they would have proceeded given the available facts. By working with a malpractice attorney, we will develop a strategy to demonstrate the seriousness of the nurse’s actions and connect them to your injuries.
Possible Damages
Damages are any losses that you have suffered due to your medical injuries. Damages may be financial, referred to as economic damages, or non-financial, known as non-economic damages. In a nursing malpractice claim, monetary damages may include lost wages, medical costs resulting from the oversight, or future medical expenses. Non-economic damages may include pain and suffering, infliction of emotional distress, or permanent disability.
Given the subjective nature of non-economic damages, South Carolina sets a statutory cap each year that is adjusted for inflation. To claim nursing malpractice, the nurse’s error must have caused you to lose something of value. If you did not experience any losses, then you will be ineligible to file a claim.
Experienced Medical Malpractice Lawyers
Most nurses adhere to the professional and ethical obligations they owe to their patients. However, there are situations in which a nurse’s poor judgment can cause harm to a patient. If you have been affected by nursing malpractice, the team of attorneys at Parham Smith & Archenhold would like to speak with you. Contact us online or call (864) 432-1796 today.