Nurses are a crucial component of most medical facilities. This includes floor nurses monitoring patients in the hospital, nurse practitioners treating patients at clinics, mobile nurses providing in-home care, and nurse midwives who deliver babies, just to name a few. All of these types of nurses, and countless others, are expected to perform their duties within the standard of care. And rightfully so.
A simple mistake could have serious consequences for a patient who is treated improperly, causing physical harm, exacerbating a medical condition, or even fatal injuries.
Those affected by negligence in nursing are often eligible to pursue a legal claim for the damages they have incurred.
An experienced nursing malpractice attorney can help you determine whether you have a case and the best legal strategy for seeking fair compensation for nursing malpractice. To get started, contact us today.
What Negligence in Nursing Actually Requires to Prove
Not every bad outcome in nursing care is malpractice. Here’s what a nursing negligence claim typically requires to move forward.
Key Takeaways
- A nursing malpractice claim generally requires a provider-patient relationship, a duty of care, a breach of that duty, and harm that resulted directly from it.
- Nurses are held to the standard of a similarly trained professional, meaning an RN, CNA, nurse practitioner, and CRNA may each be evaluated differently based on their specific training.
- Common examples of negligence in nursing include failure to monitor a patient, medication errors, missed routine or emergency care, and improper documentation.
- A single bad outcome doesn’t prove negligence; the key question is whether the nurse’s action or inaction deviated from what a similarly trained nurse would have done.
Noticing Something Was Wrong Doesn’t Make You Difficult
If you raised concerns about a loved one’s care and felt dismissed, or you’re now looking back and wondering if warning signs were missed, that instinct is worth taking seriously. We can help you understand what proper nursing care should have looked like and whether your loved one’s care fell short.
Schedule A Free ConsultationWhat is Negligence in Nursing?
Negligence in nursing is a form of medical malpractice, the legal theory under which you can seek compensation from a negligent healthcare provider, including nurses.
Nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals owe their patients a reasonable and accepted standard of care that includes careful attention to treatment protocols and practices.
These professionals are obligated to ensure patient safety and well-being to the best of their ability and act in a way that would be acceptable to other nurses in similar situations.
That does not mean a nurse is liable anytime anything goes wrong, as there are inherent risks with virtually all medical treatments and procedures.
But, a nurse should be able to demonstrate that every reasonable precaution was taken to ensure the patient’s safety, and if they are unable to do so, the patient may have a malpractice claim.
What Are the Elements of Nursing Medical Negligence?
The fact that a treatment did not go as intended is not enough to constitute malpractice in nursing. In order to have a valid medical malpractice claim, several foundational elements must be present in your case.
- There must be an official medical provider-patient relationship to establish a legal duty of care. Establishing this element typically requires showing the nurse had some responsibility for caring for the patient.
- The nurse must have acted in a way that resulted in harm. This also includes failure to take action when they should have.
- The action or inaction must be a deviation from what a similarly situated nurse would have considered reasonable care.
Just like doctors, not all nurses have the same specializations or areas of expertise. Generalized education is important, but the profession has different levels of education and specialization.
Whether the person is a registered nurse (RN), a certified nursing assistant (CNA), a nurse practitioner (NP), a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), or any other type of nurse with specialized experience or education, they will be held to the standard of someone with similar training.
So the question becomes, did they act in the same way a competent nurse with a similar level of training would have? If the answer is no, you likely have a valid claim for negligence in nursing.
You Trusted Them With Your Care, and That Trust Matters
When a nurse falls short, it’s not just a medical issue. It can feel like a breach of trust at a time when you were most vulnerable. We’ll listen to what happened, review the records, and help you understand honestly whether your care fell below what you deserved.
Schedule A Free ConsultationWhat Are Common Negligent Nurse Examples?
There are many examples of negligence in nursing. The following is not an all-inclusive list but includes some of the most common instances.
1. Failure to Monitor
A nurse is often the primary person responsible for monitoring a patient’s condition when hospitalized or otherwise present in a medical facility.
They are often charged with identifying and reporting any worsening changes, and failure to do so could lead to potential problems that may have been preventable.
2. Botched Treatment
Nurses are often responsible for providing treatments to patients. In some cases, they may be the provider determining the treatment protocol, which is common for nurse practitioners or other specialized professionals.
Failure to perform adequate treatment can result in serious injuries to a patient.
3. Medication Errors
The administration of medication is incredibly important to the health of a patient.
A medication error, such as providing incorrect medication timing or dosage or dispensing the wrong prescription entirely, can have serious consequences. Nurses must be diligent in ensuring medication protocol is upheld.
4. Failure to Provide Routine Care
Nurses are often responsible for providing routine care to patients, such as helping them adjust positions to avoid bedsores or taking brief walks to maintain mobility.
Routine care also includes monitoring hydration, food intake, and bowel movements. Failing to provide routine care can lead to unnecessary injury for patients.
5. Failure to Provide Emergency Care
Nurses are often on the front lines in a medical emergency. They are tasked with taking action to stabilize and treat patients, which may include seeking qualified help or providing medical intervention where possible.
A nurse who refuses to offer appropriate assistance may be liable for negligence in nursing.
6. Improper Documentation
Maintaining accurate patient records is an important part of a nurse’s job. Failing to make accurate and timely updates to documentation can result in improper treatment of the patient.
Doctors and other medical staff rely on patient records to make informed decisions that impact the health of the patient.
If you believe that a nurse’s failure to provide sufficient care led to harm or exacerbated an existing condition, it is important to talk to a medical malpractice lawyer who can evaluate the circumstances of your claim.
Negligence in Nursing: Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers to the questions we hear most from patients and families evaluating a nursing negligence or nursing malpractice claim.
Negligence in nursing generally occurs when a nurse fails to meet the accepted standard of care and that failure causes harm to a patient. This can include action or inaction, such as missing a warning sign or skipping a required step in treatment. Not every bad outcome qualifies; the care must have fallen below what a similarly trained nurse would have provided.
A nursing malpractice claim generally requires showing a provider-patient relationship existed, the nurse owed a duty of care, that duty was breached, and the breach caused measurable harm. Without evidence connecting the nurse’s action or inaction directly to your injury, a claim is unlikely to succeed.
No, different types of nurses are held to the standard of a similarly trained professional in their role. A registered nurse, certified nursing assistant, nurse practitioner, and certified registered nurse anesthetist each have different levels of training, so a claim evaluates whether the specific nurse acted the way a similarly qualified provider would have.
Common examples include failure to monitor a patient’s condition, medication errors, failure to provide routine or emergency care, botched treatment, and improper documentation. Each type requires different evidence to show how the nurse’s action or inaction deviated from accepted standards.
Yes, medication errors such as incorrect dosing, wrong timing, or dispensing the wrong prescription can support a nursing malpractice claim if the error caused harm. Nurses are expected to follow medication protocols carefully, and a documented deviation from that protocol is often central to these cases.
In many cases, a hospital or facility can share liability for a nurse’s negligence, particularly if the nurse was acting within the scope of their employment. An attorney can help determine whether the facility, the nurse individually, or both should be named in a claim.
Signs worth reviewing include a sudden decline that went unreported, missed medication, bedsores from lack of routine care, or a delayed response during a medical emergency. A medical malpractice lawyer can review the medical records to determine whether a nurse’s care fell below the accepted standard.
Yes, inaccurate or incomplete documentation can be evidence of negligence on its own, and it can also make it harder for other providers to give proper care. Missing or inconsistent records are often reviewed closely when evaluating whether a nurse’s actions met the expected standard of care.
No, not every complication or poor outcome is the result of negligence, since some risks exist even with proper care. A claim requires showing that the nurse’s action or inaction deviated from what a similarly trained nurse would have done in the same situation.
Start by requesting your complete medical records and writing down what you remember about the timeline of your care. Speaking with a medical malpractice attorney early can help preserve evidence and clarify whether your situation may support a nursing negligence claim.
Contact a Nursing Medical Negligence Attorney at Brockstedt Mandalas Federico
As a patient, you trust nurses with your health and well-being, assuming that everything they do will be well-thought-out and in your best interest.
When a nurse falls short in carrying out these responsibilities, it can be devastating physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially.
At the law firm of Brockstedt Mandalas Federico, we understand how difficult it can be to process your experience and make sense of being harmed by a professional healthcare provider.
Let us walk you through the process of determining the strengths of your case, fact-finding, and valuation, and come up with the best legal strategy to get you the compensation you deserve.
We have the trial-tested expertise and results-driven mindset to take on the complexities of your nursing negligence case.
Our team of dedicated attorneys can help you or your loved one get the justice you deserve. Contact us to schedule your case consultation.
We handle cases in Columbia, Pikesville, Parkville, Dundalk, Rosedale, Essex, Brooklyn Park, Towson, Delaware, Washington D.C., and many others.
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Phil Federico is a partner at Brockstedt Mandalas Federico where he helps lead the Mass Tort / Class Action and Environmental Law practices, transitioning into these areas after beginning his career as a medical malpractice litigator.
Phil has led and been involved in historic and groundbreaking litigation with verdicts and settlements exceeding one billion dollars.