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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: Failure to Adequately Assess and Monitor the Patient Post Operatively Resulting in the Patient's Death. The decedent/plaintiff was a 67-year-old male who underwent a right total knee replacement. Following the procedure, the plaintiff was treated in the post-anesthesia care unit where an epidural catheter was inserted for post operative pain management. Read the Full Case with Risk Management Recommendations |
Read Previous Issues of the NSO Special Edition Legal Case Study: Nurse Edition |
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Case Study: Improper Technique, Improper Assessment and Treatment of Hematoma; Failure to Notify the Physician and Intensive Care Staff of the Need for Close Monitoring of Hematoma and Patient Condition. The decedent/plaintiff was a 76-year-old female admitted to the hospital for congestive heart failure. She was placed on a respirator and sedated. ICU staff obtained telephone consent from the plaintiff's daughter for placement of a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC). The defendant nurse practitioner was a PICC specialist employed by an agency that contracted with the hospital for placement of PICC lines for its inpatients. Read the Full Case with Risk Management Recommendations |
Read Previous Issues of the NSO Special Edition Legal Case Study: Nurse Nurse Practitioner Edition
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May 2012 Legal Case Study |
| Failure to Properly Monitor Intracranial Pressure of Man Suffering Head Injury and Stroke - Brain Damage - $17.7 Million Settlement. |
The plaintiff was taken to a University Medical Center shortly after suffering an injury received while working as a police officer. The plaintiff had hit his head on a curb after being thrown over a car while responding to a disturbance call outside a local bar. The plaintiff later suffered a stroke and was taken to the hospital. An external ventricular drain was inserted to drain excess fluid from his brain about a week later. Doctors ordered the nursing staff to test the drain by clamping it to see if he was stable enough to remove it. The plaintiff claimed that the nurses failed to properly monitor his intracranial pressure during this testing period. His pressure rose to a dangerous level overnight, but the plaintiff claimed that the nursing staff failed to notify a physician until the plaintiff had already suffered a major brain injury. The plaintiff became quadriplegic and is in a “locked-in” state. A $17.7 million settlement was reached. This included $16.2 million from the University nurses and $1.5 million from nurse staffing company. 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 | |
|---|---|
| Failure to Properly Monitor Intracranial Pressure of Man Suffering Head Injury and Stroke - Brain Damage - $17.7 Million Settlement. | |
| Man Dies From Cardiac Arrest in ICU When Monitor Alarms Not Heard and Faulty Wiring - $1.2 Million Settlement. | |
| Hospital and Nurses Found Responsible for Retained Sponge of Woman After Cesarean Section DeliveryDespite Continuing Complaints of Pain, Obstetrician Did Not Diagnose Sponge Presence - Found on CT Scan Ordered by Primary Physician | |
| Potassium Chloride by IV Drip Ordered for Woman, but Family Claims IV Push of Potassium Chloride Given - Death - $250,000 Verdict. | |
| Foley Catheter Used at Conclusion of Surgery, Instead of “In and Out” Catheter - Urethra Tear Due to Inflation of Balloon in Urethra - Multiple Procedures, Extended Hospitalization and Need for Catheterization for Life - $850,000 Gross Verdict. | |
| Failure to Perform X-Rays and Properly Diagnose Teenager's Ewing's Sarcoma - Death - Defense Verdict. | |
| Woman's Critically High INR Value While on Coumadin Not Properly Treated - Death - Undisclosed Settlement With Nurse Practitioner - Directed Verdict for Physician. | |
| Failure to Timely Diagnose and Treat Stroke - Partial Paralysis of Arm, Aphasia, Mild Cognitive Impairment and Foot Drop - $4 Million Settlement. | |
| Man Claims Complaints of Pain Under Cast Following Surgery on Leg Should Have Been Immediately Evaluated - Cellulitis Develops and Requires a Decade of Treatment - Defense Verdict. | |
| Failure to Properly Assist Woman Using Bedside Commode - Commode Collapses While Woman is On It Unattended - Fractured Tibia - Defense Verdict. | |
| Failure to Timely Deliver Baby When Mother Arrives With Vaginal Bleeding Blamed for Cerebral Palsy - Defense Verdict. | |
| Failure to Properly Monitor Child During Transport for CT Scan Following Seizure - Death - $3,662,221 Verdict. |
