Patients who are admitted to the hospital or seek medical treatment expect that a team of competent staff members will provide their care.  This healthcare team includes all hospital employees involved in their care; such as, physicians, pharmacists, dietitians, social workers, and nurses.

The care provided by nurses is guided by standards of care. Standards of care were developed and implemented to define the quality of care provided. Standards may also serve as guidelines when evaluating nursing care for possible negligence. Standards of care not only communicate the expectations of nurses in similar situations but also promote accountability for the nursing care provided. Standards of care have a legal significance as nursing malpractice allegations hinge on the fact that the nurse failed to meet basic standards of nursing care. In a nursing malpractice case, the nurse’s care will be compared to that of a reasonable, prudent nurse with similar training and experience in a similar situation.  The legal community often reviews written standards for these comparisons of the action in question to reasonable prudent care and use the standards of care as proof.  Nursing standards of care can be found at a national, state and local level.

The American Nurses Association and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) have established nationally recognized standards of care.  These standards can hold nurses accountable, regardless of their area or state of practice.  State nurse practice acts define areas of practice for nurses in each state. These practice acts may vary from state to state but define the scope of practice for nurses licensed in their state of practice. The state nurse practice acts also attempt to eliminate the practice to nursing by non-nursing personnel (i.e. untrained or unlicensed persons). Local standards of care are those developed by the individual hospital or agency and are often located in agency’s procedure or policy manuals.  

Nurses are empowered by the standards of care and the trust of the physician and patient to ensure quality care. Nurses have numerous responsibilities in regards to nursing care to include monitoring patients, completing nursing interventions, documentation and recording of the patient’s care, and communication with the appropriate staff when a change in the patient’s condition warrants it. Negligence may occur however, when the nurse fails to follow the standards of care or misinterprets or does not recognize changes in the patient’s condition that requires timely intervention.

Nurses have been held accountable for inappropriately administering medications, failing to observe changes in the patient’s condition and failing to provide appropriate nursing interventions in a timely fashion. Nurses have also been found negligent when failing to protect the patient from harm (i.e. patient’s who receive burns from warming beds), failing to monitor equipment that later causes harm to the patient and not adhering to the state regulations (delegating nursing tasks to non-nursing, unlicensed personnel).

When evaluating claims involving nursing malpractice, there are several legal, factual and evidentiary matters that should be considered.  Some of these include:

• Did the nurse provide nursing care consistent with the standards of care?

• Did the nurse have education and training appropriate to the area in which she was working?

• Was there an investigation into the causes of the incident in question?

• Did the nurse or other staff make any admissions of wrongdoing?

• What was the setting of the alleged malpractice?

• Did the nurse render nursing care properly?

• Did the nurse adequately monitor the patient?

• Did the nurse document care provided?

• Did the nurse notify the physician of any changes in the patient’s condition in a timely manner?

• Did the nurse appropriate delegate tasks to non-nursing healthcare providers?

It is important that a nursing errors or claim be evaluated by an experienced legal team. Complex legal and safety issues may be involved. If you, a friend, or loved one are hurt by a nurses mistake, you should take immediate steps to protect your or their interest. Do not compromise your rights by making statements to the press, insurance investigators, potential defendants, their representatives, and do not sign anything. Safely secure the medication in question and all related documents. Consider the suggestions in our accident guide, and call us immediately. We are here to help. At Larry King, P.C., we recognize the unique issues pertaining to your claim. You can call us at (757) 595-8100 seven days a week, 24 hours a day, everyday of the year. We also offer a free legal-infoline service, and you can now contact us on this web site by using our Personal Injury Contact form. We are committed to doing the extra things it takes to help our clients. If you would like to know more, make a selection from the above box.