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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 |
November 2009 Legal Case Study |
| Woman Falls and Fractures Hip After Waist Restraint is Removed - Plaintiff Claims Nurses Removed It - Defendant Claims Plaintiff Removed It - $127,188 Verdict. |
The plaintiff, age seventy-four, had end-stage renal disease. She began to experience severe back pain and was transported to the defendant hospital. The plaintiff was given a morphine injection which caused an allergic reaction. She was admitted to the hospital and placed in a soft waist restraint on her bed. At some point during the night, the plaintiff fell to the floor. She suffered a fractured hip and underwent surgery to repair the fracture. The waist restraint was found on a window ledge near the plaintiff’s bed, but neither of the two nurses assigned to the plaintiff claimed any knowledge of how the restraint was removed from the plaintiff or how the restraint came to be on the window sill. An entry in the plaintiff’s chart shortly before the plaintiff was found on the floor indicated that the plaintiff was in the restraint. The plaintiff claimed that the nurses improperly secured the restraint and/or removed the restraint. The plaintiff alleged limited use of her hip as a result of the fall. The defendants claimed that the plaintiff had removed the restraint herself, which the plaintiff maintained she was unable to do. According to Ohio Trial Reporter a $127,188 verdict was returned. 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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| Woman Falls and Fractures Hip After Waist Restraint is Removed - Plaintiff Claims Nurses Removed It - Defendant Claims Plaintiff Removed It - $127,188 Verdict. | |
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