Nurse Video Case Study: Failure to assess and monitor

Failure to complete nursing assessments or adequately monitor patients are some of the most frequent malpractice allegations asserted against nurses. They account for a combined 12.7% of all malpractice claims against nurses, according to the Nurse Professional Liability Exposure Claim Report: 4th Edition. These claims most often involved nurses working in areas of high patient acuity, such as the ED, ICU, and PACU.

This video case study focuses on a registered nurse (RN) working in the post-acute critical care nursing unit who was responsible for the post-operative care of a 67-year-old male patient following a total knee replacement. Although the RN customarily worked as a charge nurse on the medical-surgical nursing care unit, she had been re-assigned for this shift. In addition to her duties as the charge nurse for the unit, the defendant nurse was also assigned to assess the patient and oversee his care along with a licensed practical nurse (LPN).
In this video you will learn:

• The patient’s relevant medical history.
• How failure to clarify work assignments played a role in the patient’s outcome.
• What the expert witnesses testified.
• The final settlement and cost of the malpractice lawsuit.
• Risk management recommendations for avoiding similar circumstances.

Additional Resources

• Legal Case Study (PDF) with risk management recommendations.
• Nurse Professional Liability Exposure Claim Report: 4th Edition