Nurses play a critical role in the healthcare system. They’re responsible for – among other things – monitoring patients, administering medication, and relaying important information to doctors. Bad things can happen when nurses make mistakes or are careless. Every year, thousands of Americans suffer devastating injuries because of nurse errors.
Have you or someone you love been harmed because of a nurse’s error? You may be entitled to compensation. Contact Lavent Law Personal Injury Lawyer to find out if you have a legitimate medical malpractice claim. When you call, our experienced medical malpractice lawyers in Miami, will review your case and explain your rights. If you’ve been injured, we can help you demand the money you deserve.
Why Should I Hire a Miami Injury Lawyer After Being Injured Due to a Nursing Error?
You trusted that the nurses in charge of your care would help to make you feel better, not worse. Unfortunately, mistakes were made and now you’re forced to pay the price. Chronic pain, emotional distress, and mounting financial bills are just the tip of the iceberg. You shouldn’t have to struggle with these burdens on your own. Fortunately, you may have the right to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the nurse and/or hospital responsible for your injuries.
You can pursue a medical malpractice claim on your own. However, the odds of success are low. Hospitals and insurance companies will fight you every step of the way. Even if you do get a settlement, it probably won’t be enough to cover all of your expenses. Hiring an attorney with experience handling complex medical malpractice cases will level the playing field. Insurers won’t be able to rely on their standard tactics. You’ll be in a much better position to obtain a fair settlement or award.
Here’s what you can expect when you hire the experienced legal team at Lavent Law Personal Injury Lawyer to handle your nurse error claim:
- Thorough investigation into your medical care and the error that led to your injury
- Assessing the level of care you received at the medical facility where you were injured
- Interviews with nurses and other medical professionals charged with your care
- Review of medical records and treatment plans
- Consultations with some of the most respected medical experts in Miami, our
- Tough negotiations with defendants and insurance companies.
Our goal is to figure out what caused your injury, identify who made the error and force the negligent party to take responsibility for their mistakes. This aggressive approach will help you get the financial award you deserve.
Nurses Have a Duty to Use Care
Nurses have a lot of responsibility when it comes to the treatment and care of patients. If you visit a doctor’s office or hospital, you’ll probably spend much more time with a nurse than a doctor. Since nurses are such an integral part of a patient’s care, they’re held to a heightened standard of care.
Nurses have a duty to use the “level of care, skill, and treatment which, in light of all relevant surrounding circumstances, is recognized as acceptable and appropriate by reasonably prudent similar health care providers.”
In other words, nurses have to provide a level of care that is consistent with their training and experience. They must use all of the tools and resources available to them to provide the best possible patient care. Anything less can put patients in danger. When a nurse fails to live up to this standard, they can be considered negligent.
Five Kinds of Nursing Negligence
A study published by the American Journal of Nursing revealed that there are five primary types of nursing negligence.
Failure to Follow Standards of Care: Hospitals and healthcare facilities develop rules and policies in place to protect patients. They outline the practices and the standard of care that’s expected of nurses working in that particular facility. These policies are derived from guidelines issued by government agencies and nursing organizations. Nurses who intentionally or accidentally violate these standards can cause a lot of harm.
Example: A nurse fails to seek departmental approval before administering a medication not typically used in the course of treatment.
Failure to Use Equipment Responsibly: Nurses must be trained to use the tools of their profession correctly. This includes understanding how medical equipment functions and when specific tools should be used. Many medical mistakes happen when nurses fail to use medical devices and equipment as intended.
Example: A nurse is unfamiliar with a new heart monitoring system and places the sensors on a patient incorrectly.
Failure to Assess, Monitor, and Communicate: Nurses are central to communication among medical professionals. If a nurse isn’t on top of things or fails to pass critical information along to doctors, patients can suffer.
Example: A nurse sees that a patient’s oxygen level is unusually low, but does not direct that information to the attending physician.
Failure to Document and Chart: Sometimes nurses are busy and don’t have the time to report every detail of a patient’s status to doctors. This is why charting is critical. When a nurse documents a patient’s vitals, statistics, and history it’s available for the entire medical team to review. Failing to chart patient details disrupts communication and prevents comprehensive and informed treatment.
Example: A nurse doesn’t include a patient’s history of blood clots in their medical chart. Without this information, the doctor may recommend a course of treatment that is dangerous for this particular patient.
Failure to Act as a Patient Advocate: Nurses must be advocates for their patients. They must provide treatment that may clash with their own personal beliefs or opinions. They must do their best to ensure that patients are informed and understand the basics of their care.
Example: A nurse fails to provide adequate discharge instructions to a patient to ensure that treatment and monitoring continue at home.
Common Nurse Errors in Miami, FL
Nursing errors and mistakes are fairly common. Unfortunately, many of these errors are entirely avoidable. Nurse errors that commonly result in patient injury include:
- Administering the wrong dose of a medication
- Failing to identify – or ignoring – complications
- Failing to monitor a patient
- Using medical devices improperly
- Not communicating with other medical staff, including doctors
- Failing to sterilize equipment, resulting in infection, and
- Failing to remove surgical items from a patient.
Patients suffer when a nurse rushes, cuts corners, or makes mistakes. They should be held fully accountable for the injuries and suffering they cause. Do not hesitate to speak with an attorney if you’ve been harmed because of a nurse’s negligence.
Damages for Nursing Negligence Injuries
When you suffer an injury because of nursing negligence, you may be entitled to financial compensation. This can include money for:
- Medical expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Lost wages, past and future
- Disability
- Emotional trauma
- Disfigurement and scarring
- Loss of enjoyment of life, and more.
Contact Lavent Law Personal Injury Lawyer for help with your nurse error lawsuit. Our attorneys will aggressively pursue compensation on your behalf. We’ll fight to make sure that you get every penny you deserve.
Florida Statute of Limitations for Nurse Error Cases
Florida state law limits the amount of time you have to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. Generally speaking, you have two years from the date you discovered – or should have discovered – your injury. You can lose your right to recover compensation if you wait too long to ask for the money you need. It’s best to contact an attorney for help to make sure that your personal injury case is filed before the statute of limitations expires.
Call our Miami Medical Malpractice Lawyer For Help
Nurses are trained to help patients, not hurt them. When a nurse makes a mistake, the consequences can be devastating. If you’ve been injured because of nursing negligence, you can demand compensation. The attorneys at Lavent Law Personal Injury Lawyer can help you recover the money you deserve. Contact our Miami law firm today to learn more. Your first consultation is free, so call to get started on your case today.
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