Las Vegas Nursing Errors and Malpractice
Nurses are some of the most integral components of proper emergency and long-term care. Most of the time, nurses treat patients well and without many serious setbacks.
However, sometimes, nurses are negligent and make mistakes. These mistakes can be severe and can cause additional harm on top of the patient’s already burdensome injuries. When nursing errors and malpractice occur, give Lerner and Rowe a call to pursue compensation.
What is a Nursing Error?
A nursing error occurs when a nurse acts in a negligent manner and doesn’t properly care for their patients. Often, these errors lead to harming a patient. Nursing errors can occur because of a variety of reasons. Everything from lack of sleep or concentration to misreading a doctor’s order. Here are just a few reasons nursing errors happen:
- Poor/No Communication – Nurses are important for relaying information to other healthcare professionals. When nurses communicate poorly or fail to communicate at all, the patient’s health could suffer.
- Failure to Monitor a Patient – Similarly, nurses are supposed to keep a close eye on their patients. If they neglect their duties, a patient could have a health emergency with no help readily available.
- Poor/No Documentation – Medical documents are important for all healthcare professionals. This is because healthcare professionals need to know about things such as allergies, pre-existing conditions, and other medical details. When documentation is incorrect or insufficient, the patient could suffer injury.
- Improper Use of Equipment – Nurses may not be fully trained on some tools/equipment, or they may use tools/equipment that are broken. In either instance, the patient may receive further harm.
- Medical Procedural Errors – A nurse may perform a medical procedure in an incorrect manner. For instance, they may give a shot in a vein instead of a muscle. These types of errors can result in lasting damage and sometimes even death.
- Medication Errors – When a nurse or other healthcare professional administers medication, it’s important to make sure the right medication, dosage, frequency, and method (capsule, injection, etc.) are used. Unfortunately, nurses may make medication errors that can result in devastating health effects for the patient.
This list is not complete, and there are many more situations where medical malpractice can take place. If you believe you or someone you know suffer from medical malpractice, contact Lerner and Rowe for a free consultation.
Also, keep in mind that nurses may not be the only ones liable when it comes to nursing malpractice. Depending on the circumstances, the attending doctor or the hospital could be liable too. So, don’t think that malpractice is limited to a single person or entity. Possible defendants in a nursing malpractice case can include the following:
- Registered Nurses (RNs)
- Nurse Practitioners/Advanced Practice Nurses (APRNs)
- Licensed Nurses (LNs)
- Nursing para-professionals and student nurse practitioners
- The hospital (usually if it is the employer of the nurse)
- The doctor attending the patient/nurse
- Other healthcare professionals
How to Identify Nursing Error and Malpractice
Some nursing errors can be difficult to pursue. Because of this, it’s important to discern the difference between errors that constitute malpractice and those that don’t. So, how can a personal injury attorney identify medical malpractice? Here are key points they look to prove:
- Medical Relationship – The first step in proving a medical malpractice case is establishing a medical relationship. This is relatively easy, most of the time. Medical records, nurses’ notes, medication bills/receipts, and other documents are usually sufficient to prove that the nurse was caring (or supposed to be caring) for you when something went wrong.
- Negligence – The next key element is negligence. This means the nurse or other healthcare professional acted in a manner outside the reasonable standard of care. In other words, another healthcare professional working in a similar situation would have behaved in a different manner from the person responsible for harming you.
- Harm/Injury – Once negligence is shown, it must further be proven that the negligence resulted in harm. If you suffered injury not related to the nurse’s negligence, you will have a difficult time pursuing compensation. If, however, you suffered injury directly from medical negligence, you may have good grounds for compensation.
What To Do
If you suffered an injury from nursing malpractice, there are a few steps you can take to recover quickly and pursue compensation. Remember these three things:
- Remember/Gather Evidence – Keep all medical documents, and remember key details (if you can) such as who attended you and when the malpractice occurred. It’s important to have as much evidence as you can for your medical malpractice case.
- Contact Legal Help – Give Lerner and Rowe Injury Attorneys a call to discuss your malpractice case prospects.
- Rest and Heal – Focus your energy where it’s needed most – on your recovery. Let our medical malpractice team handle your case while you save your energy on recuperation.
Suffer from Las Vegas Nursing Errors and Malpractice?
If you or someone you know suffers from nursing negligence and malpractice, give Lerner and Rowe Injury Attorneys a call right away. Our lawyers work with top medical experts to pursue your rightful compensation. Give us a call anytime at 702-877-1500. Additionally, you can reach us in our office from Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You can also reach us online through a form or through our LiveChat feature.
Don’t keep your questions to yourself, and don’t pursue your legal case alone. Contact Lerner and Rowe today!