Nurses, like other medical professionals, can be liable for injuries or complications their patients suffer as a result of their negligent care. To establish this legal liability, an injured patient must show that the nurse’s behavior involved the four legal elements of negligence. If successful in doing so, they can demand that the nurse or their employer compensate them for the harm they suffered due to the nurse’s negligence. A successful personal injury claim could help recover compensation for additional medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages.
The Four Elements of Nursing Malpractice
The four elements of negligence in nursing include:
Duty
A nurse owes their patient a duty of care to provide medical assistance that meets the standard of care applicable to their situation. The standard of care includes the decisions and actions that other reasonably prudent nurses of similar training and experience would undertake in similar circumstances.
Breach of Duty
A nurse may breach their duty of care when they provide treatment to a patient that falls below the applicable standard of care in a patient’s case. For example, the standard of care for a patient may require a nurse to check on the patient once per hour. However, nurses can breach their duty of care by leaving the patient unattended for several hours. Medical experts must be able to identify how a nurse breached their duty of care.
Causation
A nursing negligence claim requires a patient to show that a nurse’s breach of their duty of care caused the patient’s injury or medical condition. For example, suppose a nurse misses several hourly checks on a patient, during which time the patient’s condition steadily worsens. In that case, the nurse’s breach of their duty to check on the patient causes their worsening condition to go unnoticed and untreated.
Damages
A nursing malpractice claim will require a patient to prove the damages they suffered due to a nurse’s negligence. Damages may include additional medical care needed to treat an injury or condition caused by a nurse’s negligence, lost wages resulting from missed work time, costs of long-term care for resulting disabilities, physical pain, emotional distress, or a reduced quality of life or life expectancy.
What to Do If You Are a Victim of Nursing Malpractice
If you suspect that you have suffered injury or health complications due to nursing malpractice, take the following steps to protect your rights and seek financial recovery in a medical malpractice claim:
- Seek immediate medical attention for your injury or complications.
- Report your injury or condition to nursing supervisors or the hospital or medical facility.
- Obtain copies of your medical records, including status charts and progress notes.
- Follow your treatment plan and recovery instructions from your new healthcare provider for your injuries or medical conditions.
- Keep copies of all bills, invoices, and receipts related to medical expenses incurred for treating your injury or condition.
- Gather your pay stubs or income statements if you need to miss time from work due to your condition.
Contact a nursing malpractice attorney from Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. as soon as possible for a free, no-obligation consultation. We are ready to discuss your legal options for seeking financial recovery and justice from liable parties for the harm you’ve endured due to negligent nursing care. Our firm can identify liable parties and collaborate with experts to build a case that proves you suffered nursing malpractice. Don’t delay – call today.
