Nurses Make Mistakes Too

While it is more common to hear of medical malpractice as it relates to doctors, nurses may also be guilty of it.

Nurses don’t go to work thinking about
negligently performing their jobs. They arrive ready to do their shift
and perhaps at some point during those 12 hours unintentionally commit
a negligent act that results in injury or death to an unsuspecting
patient. Sadly, it appears that nurse malpractice is on the rise thanks
to the conditions in many hospitals today – overcrowding,
understaffing, unrealistic deadlines, a steady stream of emergencies,
and other factors that overwhelm even the best intentioned RN.

An overworked, overwhelmed RN makes mistakes; it’s just that simple. The results of those mistakes often mean a Cleveland malpractice lawyer is seeking compensation from the courts for damages a victim has suffered, including emotional, financial and physical.

The solution to nursing malpractice would
seem to be more nurses. As simple as that may sound, it appears to be a
difficult goal to achieve. While nurses are in high demand, there is a
chronic shortage of registered and licensed nurses. That means that
those working on the front lines are often tapped to work more and more
overtime. The cumulative total of hours worked often leads to burn out
and nursing errors. Many a Cleveland medical malpractice lawsuit has made mention of the nursing shortage at hospitals.

Statistically speaking if a nurse is
working over 12.5 hours, they are three times more likely to make
mistakes while on duty. In response to the, it’s no real surprise there
is poor communication, carelessness and miscommunication. Many of these
factors become part and parcel of a nursing lawsuit filed by a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer.

Nursing errors may run the gamut from
medication errors (wrong dose or wrong patient), not doing what a
doctor instructed, not responding to a patient’s needs in a timely
fashion, or going ahead and doing a procedure they are not properly
trained to handle. While many of these mistakes may be explained by
being overworked and stressed, the consequences of this inattention and
negligence may result in a drug overdose, coma, infection, organ
damage, an adverse drug reaction or death.

Patients who have survived what they feel was nursing malpractice should seek the expert legal counsel of a Cleveland medical malpractice
attorney to discuss recovering damages for medical expenses, pain and
suffering, loss of wages or the ability to work, loss of support
(involving a death), etc.

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