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Special Edition Legal Case Study
Nursing Professionals and Medical Malpractice: A Case Study with Risk Management Strategies
Medical malpractice claims can be asserted against any healthcare provider. Although there may be a perception that physicians are held responsible for the majority of lawsuits, the reality is that nursing professionals are more frequently finding themselves defending the care they provide.
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Case Study: Medication Administration Error and Failure to Monitor A 23-year-old woman with no significant medical history presented to the emergency room with flu-like symptoms. She complained of generalized body ache and had a fever of 102.6. For the past two weeks, she self administered over-the- counter medications with no relief. Instead, her condition deteriorated and she developed both shortness of breath and a cough. Her worsening symptoms motivated her to seek care a local emergency room... Read the Full Case with Risk Management Recommendations |
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Case Study: Failure to Assess Resident and Failure to Inform the Physician of Resident’s Unstable Condition This case involves the treatment and subsequent death of a 78-year-old female resident of a nursing home. She had a number of medical conditions including hypertension, chronic anemia, chronic renal failure, congestive heart failure and morbid obesity. She was prescribed the anti-coagulant drug Coumadin because of atrial fibrillation and the related risk of blood clot formation... Read the Full Case with Risk Management Recommendations |
May 2009 Legal Case Study |
| Failure to Provide Proper Care to Long-Time Resident - Dehydration and Fecal Impaction of Vagina - Death - $525,000 Settlement. |
The plaintiff’s decedent, age ninety, was a long-time resident of the defendant nursing home. She had a history of stroke, right-sided paralysis, constipation and urinary tract infections. The decedent was dependent on the nursing staff for transfers, toileting, eating and drinking. In December 2005 the decedent complained of a urinary tract infection which was treated with antibiotics. She also had painful vaginal ulcerations which allegedly went unassessed and untreated. The decedent was being given two doses of laxatives and prunes each day, but her fluid intake and output was not being consistently monitored. Despite doctor’s orders, the nursing staff restricted fluid intake, especially at night. After four days of treatment for the urinary tract infection the decedent was taking in less than twelve ounces of fluid and had not eaten in several days. The next day the decedent complained of abdominal pain. At that time, she was still receiving laxatives and prunes twice a day and her fluid intake was minimal. Over the next two days the decedent had fifteen large bowel movements and she was found unresponsive the following day. She was taken to an emergency room, where she was found profoundly dehydrated and her vagina was fecally impacted. Emergency room nurses stated that her vagina had to be irrigated and it took eight to ten wash clothes to remove all of the dried and impacted fecal matter. The decedent died the following morning of dehydration. The plaintiff alleged failure to provide proper care. According to a Verdict Reporter a $525,000 settlement was reached. With permission from Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements & Experts; Lewis Laska, Editor, 901 Church St., Nashville, TN 37203-3411, 1-800-298-6288. |
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Recently Posted Legal Case Studies
| DESCRIPTION | |
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| Internal Medtronic Pump for Pain Control Not Properly Serviced by Home Health Nurse, Leading to Overdose of Plaintiff - Plaintiff Has Short Hospitalization - Confidential Settlements With Some - $6,000 Verdict Against Home Care Defendant. | |
| Overdose of Pain Medication Administered Through Implanted Pump - Death - $1 Million Verdict. | |
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| Failure to Timely Evaluate and Treat Teenager’s Abdominal and Groin Pain - Boy Had History of Torsion - Loss of Testicle - $200,000 Settlement. | |
| Nurses Fail to Inform Surgeon of Pain and Numbness Following Laminectomy - When Epidural Hematoma is Diagnosed Hospital Fails to Provide Operating Room Emergently - Elderly Woman Rendered Paraplegic - $1.8 Million Verdict. | |
| Nurse Administers Part of Epinephrine Intravenously Instead of the Ordered Subcutaneous Delivery - Woman Kept Overnight for Observation - Claims Heart Damage - Defendant Claims All Tests Were Normal - Defense Verdict. | |
| Man Gets Out of Bed Alone After Nurse Fails to Respond to Request for Assistance to Bathroom - Fall When Bed Moves as He Returns to Bed - Fractured Hip With Decline and Death - $125,000 Settlement. | |
| Failure to Treat Lack of Blood Flow in Leg and Foot Following Trauma to Leg - Amputation Above Knee Ultimately Required - $2 Million Settlement. | |
| Woman Falls and Fractures Hip After Waist Restraint is Removed - Plaintiff Claims Nurses Removed It - Defendant Claims Plaintiff Removed It - $127,188 Verdict. | |
| Failure to Properly Respond to Fetal Distress During Labor - Emergency Cesarean Section Ultimately Performed, but Baby Dies - $325,000 Settlement. |
