Nurses are often the front line of medical care for patients. When a nurse fails to provide a certain standard of care and that failure injures a patient, medical malpractice may be involved. Proving nursing malpractice can be challenging; however, a skilled Cherry Hill medical malpractice lawyer can help.
Common examples of nursing malpractice
Nursing malpractice occurs when an attending nurse fails to fulfill their duties in the way that another nurse with the same skills and experience would. Nurses are negligent if they fail to identify important signs or symptoms of a patient’s condition. Failing to properly address a patient care emergency and neglecting to notify the attending physician of important developments in a patient’s condition may also constitute as malpractice.
Nurses that injure patients with machinery or equipment and neglect to administer the proper medication at the proper dosage at the right time are not upholding the professional standard of medical care.
Requirements in medical malpractice cases
Certain legal criteria must be met before a nursing malpractice case can proceed. First, the plaintiff must establish that a relationship between the patient and the nurse existed. The patient had to have been under the nurse’s care when the negligent act occurred.
Next, actual negligence must be proven. If a patient is unsatisfied or unhappy with the results of their medical care, that does not mean that medical malpractice had occurred. If the nurse failed to perform their job in a “reasonably skillful and careful way” at a minimum, a claim might be warranted.
It must also be proven that a nurse’s failure to provide the expected standard of care directly caused the patient’s injury or illness. A patient’s injuries must be shown to have been directly caused by a nurse’s incompetence.
Finally, it must be shown that the patient suffered damages because of the illness or injuries caused by nursing malpractice. Damages might include mental and physical pain, medical expenses, and the loss of income due to the inability to work.
Responsibility and nursing malpractice
Determining liability for nursing malpractice depends upon the case. In some cases, the attending doctor is liable, and in others, the hospital is responsible. The doctor supervising the nurse in question may be held liable for malpractice if they were present when the negligence occurred, or if it was in the doctor’s power to prevent the act of malpractice. In some cases, the hospital where the malpractice occurred is held financially and legally responsible if the nurse was a hospital employee and acting during their job duty.
Cherry Hill Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Folkman Law Offices, P.C. Hold Negligent Nurses Accountable
Most nurses provide exceptional care to every patient, but there are some cases, however, where a single, careless act severely injures a patient. Thankfully, injured patients do have recourse to obtain the compensation they deserve. Call the Cherry Hill medical malpractice lawyers at Folkman Law Offices, P.C.at 856-354-9444 to discuss your case or schedule a consultation online. Folkman Law has locations in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Philadelphia and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania to serve you.
