What Is Nurse Malpractice?
Nursing malpractice can be defined as any act of negligence that causes some emotional or physical harm to a patient. This involves both errors in patient care as well as the failure to provide the care as defined by a nurse's responsibilities.
When a nurse is assigned a patient, he or she takes on the responsibility to provide for that person with a high degree of care and due diligence. Fulfilling these responsibilities requires the nurse to follow the policies and procedures that define the basic standard of care for medical professionals. Unfortunately, nurses sometimes make errors, which can prove to be costly, if not fatal mistakes:
- Misuse of a medical product
- Failure to warn the doctor of changes in a patient's condition
- Failure to properly assess vital signs
- Failure to monitor patients
- Chart documentation error
- Medication errors
Nursing Liability and Your Baby
Labor and delivery nurses should realize that they are taking care of two patients, the mother and the baby. By accepting these patients, the nurses accept double the assignments, whether that is monitoring vital signs, checking for signs of distress, and performing other duties as assigned by the primary physician. Extra care is necessary to ensure the baby has a safe and healthy delivery.
Nurses require special training to fulfill these duties and are thus held to a higher standard of care. Under this standard, a nurse may be held liable for errors leading to a birth injury that would normally fall under a doctor's responsibility. For example, a nurse may be held liable for causing or failing to respond to fetal distress, prolonged labor, and other labor and delivery complications.
If your baby suffers from a birth injury, consider whether nursing malpractice may be the root of the error. Did anything happen that caused you to question a nurse's decision? You have two years past your son or daughter's 18th birthday to file a nurse malpractice lawsuit. Talk to a lawyer about your legal options to recover compensation.
The Birth Injury Team is a subsidiary of Silvers, Langsam & Weitzman, P.C., skilled in birth injury cases. Our attorneys have more than 100 years of combined experience representing the rights of parents and guardians caring for a child with special needs. We work closely with a group of medical professionals, who can provide valuable insight into the cause of your child's birth condition. To discuss your needs with a member of our team, contact our office, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We serve clients across the United States.
