Just as doctors can make mistakes when it comes to medical care, so too can nurses. But nurses have many more opportunities to make medical errors than doctors – most medications are administered by nurses, and they spend more time with patients than any other healthcare provider. In fact, nurses are the primary providers of hospital patient care, making up the majority of all health care providers in the United States.
Many errors made by nurses are a result of a lack of monitoring, while others are mistakes that may stem from fatigue. It is not uncommon for nurses to work more than 40 hours a week, sometimes working more than 12 hours a day. Interestingly, there is neither a state nor a federal regulation restricting the number of hours that a nurse may voluntarily work in a 24 hour day or 7 day period. As one might expect, hospital errors increase when nurses (and any other healthcare providers) work extremely long hours.
Nurse errors commonly involve patient falls. Patients who are weak from surgery or otherwise at risk for falling, such as the elderly, can suffer broken bones and head injuries if not monitored. In addition to making sure that patients do not fall from hospital beds, nurses must also monitor those patients who are bedridden for long periods of time in order to prevent the occurrence of bedsores. Caused by long periods of unrelieved pressure to the skin, bedsores can cause life-threatening infections. Because nurses spend more time with patients than other healthcare providers, the presence of bedsores often indicates a lack of monitoring and unacceptable medical care.
Nurses administer most medications in hospitals and other medical facilities. Medication errors occur when patients are given too much, not enough, or the wrong medicine altogether, all of which can have deadly results. Errors can occur for a variety of reasons, including failure to read the medication’s instructions and warnings, poor communication with other staff, distractions during administration, and/or fatigue. Nurses can also be held liable for malpractice if they fail to timely contact a doctor if a patient’s condition deteriorates after administration of medication, as this failure may lead to a costly delay in treatment.
Nurses can also make documentation errors (such as when interventions that have been performed or changes in a patient’s condition are not documented). Failure to record important health or drug information, such as specific allergies, can be deadly. Without the proper documentation in the chart, another healthcare provider may administer a medicine to which the patient is allergic, causing a potentially deadly reaction. Nurses might also fail to record medication reactions or changes in the patient’s condition. Without a record that the patient has had an adverse reaction to a specific medication, intervention may be delayed or worse, the problematic medication may continue to be administered.
Doctors are not the only healthcare providers susceptible to malpractice litigation. Because of their heavy contact with patients, nurses have more occasions during which an error can be made. If you or a loved one has been injured due to the negligent actions of a nurse, you many have a claim for malpractice. The Miami lawyers of Pita Weber Del Prado have experience with medical malpractice claims and have the resources needed to vigorously represent our clients. Contact our Miami nursing error lawyers today at 305-670-2889 for a free consultation to discuss your potential case.
