Nursing Malpractice
The role of nursing in today’s health care industry has significantly changed in recent years. Nurses have always been responsible for the health and well-being of their patients, but many nurses have taken on added responsibilities. Increased responsibilities is partly in response to cost cutting and cost containment measures in hospitals and long term care facilities. As a result of these changing roles, nurses are increasingly liable when a patient’s healthcare is compromised.
Not all unfortunate results in nursing care are the result of nursing malpractice or nursing negligence. Not all unintended, unexpected nor undesired results are from negligent nursing. Sometimes negative outcomes are the result of good-faith judgment calls that end up with disappointing consequences.
A patient making an allegation of nursing malpractice in Kentucky must be able to prove:
- A nurse-patient relationship existed. It is from this relationship that the nurse’s duty arises. Many times, several nurses have relationships to the patient. Also, sometimes a nurse that does not have a direct relationship to the patient has duties. Examples include nurses that train the care-providing nurses, charge nurses and head nurses.
- The patient must be able to prove not only the nurses duty or the standard of care that he or she was required to meet, but also that there was a deviation from the required standard of care. In Kentucky malpractice cases alleging nursing negligence, the required standards of care and violations from the required standards of care are most often established by expert witnesses. Expert witnesses in this area of Kentucky nursing negligence cases are typically registered nurses (RNs) or nursing administrators. Generally, the required standard is that a nurse provide that level of care that an ordinarily prudent nurse faced with similar circumstances would provide. This does not mean that “perfect” or “optimum” care must be provided. In many situations, choices that result in bad outcomes are not deemed to be negligent.
- In a Kentucky malpractice lawsuit alleging nursing negligence, the patient must not only establish the required standards of care and the violations or deviations, but must also show that damage or injury resulted from such deviations. A patients injuries and damages must be the result of or have been CAUSED by the nurse’s failures to meet the required nursing standards. The link between the alleged negligent nursing care and the injury must not be a possibility. In Kentucky, an allegation of nursing negligence must be the likely or probable cause of the patient’s injury. This requirement is also typically proven by an expert witness in Kentucky nursing malpractice cases.
Nursing standards of care are established in several ways including hospital and nursing policies and procedures, training, hospital regulations, Kentucky nursing regulations, standing orders at the hospital or nursing facility or nursing home, etc.
There are many reasons for an increase in Kentucky medical malpractice suits against nurses. Nurses are receiving increased responsibilities and tasks in taking care of patients in light of down-sizing staffs in hospitals, budget cuts, poor communication and nurses are required to have greater knowledge of advances in medical procedures and technology.
Kentucky nursing malpractice cases are based on a wide range of allegations. Some of the more common allegations include:
- Failure to follow a physician’s orders
- Failure to follow a physician’s orders
- Failing to assess the patient’s status and vitals
- Failing to adequately document the patient’s condition and changes in condition
- Failure to timely notify a doctor
- Failure to re-position a patient (resulting in bedsores)
- Failure to safely secure the patient
- Failure to properly assist the patient with transfers (to the bathroom, to bed, etc)
- Injuring the patient with equipment or flawed techniques
- Failure to question a doctor’s orders if they are unclear or wrong
- Failure to go up the “chain of command” if the nurse disagrees with a doctor’s decisions
There are many types of nurses. Some have different levels of training, such as Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) or Registered Nurses (RNs). There are also many different specialized types of nurses including:
- Ambulatory Care Nurses - care for patients that remain in the hospital for less than 24 hours
- Anesthesia Nurses - work with surgeons and anesthesiologists and obstetricians before, during and after surgery or labor and delivery
- Cardiac Care Nurses - work with the medical staff to assess, intervene and implement care for the heart patient
- Emergency Room Nurses - triage patients and classify their needs so that urgent or emergent care can be provided
- Geriatric Nurses - provide care for elderly patients
- Neonatal Nurses - provide care for newborns that are both healthy and unhealthy. They are responsible for providing preventative care to prevent illness and must anticipate, prevent, diagnose and minimize illness in newborns.
- Oncology Nurses - work with cancer patients during their treatment, recovery, remission and recurrence
- Pediatric Nurses - work with children
These are just a few of the types of nurses. With each, there is a great deal of clinical judgment involved in a nurse’s responsibilities. Where there is a bad outcome and a patient alleges that the nurse’s failures caused their injury, the patient must prove that failures directly led to their injury or harm.
When a patient’s health is compromised while undergoing medical treatment, it may be unclear as to who, if anyone, is at fault. The hospital, the physician or the nurse may be liable or may share liability depending on the circumstance. The complexity of medical malpractice law can be overwhelming for its victims. If you believe you or a loved one was injured in Kentucky due to nursing malpractice, you are welcome and encouraged to consult a Kentucky nursing malpractice attorney. Brett H. Oppenheimer, with offices in Louisville, can help you with the process of determining the merits of your case.
