Elements
of Medical Malpractice
According to the National Council
of State Boards of Nursing the number of disciplinary actions
for practice related issues such as failure to assess or
intervene, documentation errors and medication errors for RNs
has risen significantly in the last five years. Nurses should be
concerned about medical malpractice because nurses are held
liable for their own negligence and could find themselves being
sued for malpractice.
Medical
malpractice can be generally defined as negligence on the part
of a physician, nurse, EMT, hospital or other health care
professional which causes physical or emotional damage to a
patient under their care. This includes failure to diagnose an
illness in a timely professional manner, surgical mistakes,
mistakes in the delivery of a child, mistakes with medications,
or causing any loss or injury by not performing professionally.
Medical malpractice is limited to negligence which occurs in the
course of medical or health care, and the basic legal issues
involved in medical malpractice are the same as the legal
elements in common negligence.
Four
key elements of a medical malpractice case:
-
Standard
of Care: Generally, standard of care is defined as the
care a reasonable, careful or prudent health care
practitioner would provide in similar circumstances.
Hospitals, nurse practice acts,
state boards of nursing, and nursing departments generally
have established standards of care and policies and
procedures that guide nurses and ancillary staff in nearly
all patient care situations. Nursing
Care Plans help nurses define the most commonly
encountered clinical problems and its symptoms, then offer
guidelines for performing ongoing assessment and therapeutic
interventions. Care
Plans assist the nurse in the development, deliverance,
and documentation of patient care in order to help nurses
adhere to the most current practice and professional
standards in nursing.
Mistakes include a range of examples, including:
- Failing
to assess serious changes in patient condition, such
as failure to check neurological status, vital signs, or
blood
glucose levels on time.
- Failure to take appropriate action or notify physician
when
significant changes in patient condition are noted.
- Medication
errors, or documentation errors.
- Misusing
a medical device or implant.
- Failing
to get informed consent from a patient,
- Failing
to perform a procedure
In
order to prove medical malpractice, the plaintiff needs to
prove that the care received did not meet the “standard
of care” for medical professionals under similar
circumstances. Breach of that standard of care occurs when
someone deviates from that standard of care.
If the nurse successfully demonstrates that he/she has
met an acceptable standard of care, then there is no
malpractice.
Remember what your nursing instructors always used to say,
"If you didn't document it, it didn't happen!" -
in other words proper documentation can be your best
defense! Learn Surefire
Documentation: How, What, and When Nurses Need to Document
-
Duty:
This
is generally the most straight forward element to prove in
a medical malpractice case. Once a nurse accepts report
and assigned patients the nurse has agreed to care for
those patients. By accepting the assigned patients
the nurse has assumed a duty to treat the patient with
that degree of skill, care, and diligence possessed or
exercised by competent and careful nurses. One
situation that provides exemption from "duty"
would be care provided in a situation covered by Good
Samaritan Statutes.
-
Legal
Causation: Legal Causation
is the second major hurdle that must be overcome for a
successful malpractice plaintiff. The plaintiff must
establish that had standards of care been followed,
the injury or damages to the patient would have been
avoided. A legal cause of action for negligence usually
exists when it is determined that the breach of the
standard of care proximately caused damages, usually
physical or emotional in nature to the victim.
-
Damages:
Was unreasonable, careless or inappropriate behavior on
the part of the nurse, hospital or other health care
provider the proximate cause of injury or damages to the
patient or client? Substantial injuries caused by breach
of the standards of care
that satisfy the "damages" element of a medical
malpractice claim include:
- Death
- Disability
- Deformity
- Additional hospitalization or
surgery to correct a medical error
- Severe and prolonged pain
Helpful Resources:
Kaplan University's Online Legal Nurse Consulting Certificate
Your nursing education and clinical experience combined with the legal knowledge and research ability gained through the Legal Nurse Consulting Certificate will provide an abundance of career opportunities. Legal nurse consultants work with attorneys and other legal and health care professionals, contributing invaluable expertise to a myriad of issues including malpractice lawsuits, medical insurance claims, and workers' compensation cases. By obtaining a Kaplan University certificate, you can earn a lucrative salary or open your own legal nurse consulting practice.
Potential earnings range from $70 to $200 per hour for professional legal nurse consulting services and you can complete the certification program in 12 months without giving up your present job.
Become a Nurse - Paralegal
A paralegal degree in addition to your nursing background can open up the doors to significantly higher salary and even more exciting work. As a nurse - paralegal you will investigate the facts of cases and ensure that all relevant information is considered, identify appropriate laws, judicial decisions, legal articles, and other materials that are relevant to assigned cases, then advise attorneys in determining how cases should be handled. Learn how you can get an accredited paralegal degree online.
Earn A Law Degree Online
Concord Law School is the first institution to offer a Juris Doctor (JD) degree earned wholly online via state-of-the-art technology. Nurses, paramedics or other health care practitioners may choose Concord's specially designed Health Law Track within the Executive JDSM program to further their careers. Get A Free Catalog/Information
How I Became a Nurse Entrepreneur: Tales from 50 Nurses in Business
This book is very inspiring! Learn how 50 different nurses brought their vision to reality! Learn some great tips on starting your own business. Nurses don't have to just work at the bedside. Read this book and you will be thinking of how you can make your dream a reality!
FEATURED SCHOOLS
|
NURSING LEGAL ISSUES
