Nursing Malpractice Attorney in Los Angeles
One of the integral parts of a medical team is the nursing staff. Nurses are the day-to-day, minute-by-minute managers of your medical care and frequently play an indispensable role in your medical care. Nurses do very important and critical work. They contribute to a patient’s well-being, conduct checks on vital signs, and administer medications, among other things. When a nurse makes a mistake, that can sometimes lead to catastrophic injuries, especially when a patient is not monitored correctly, or when his or her complaints are not attended to.
Hospitals, healthcare facilities, doctors, and nursing staff are all capable of making serious errors. Nursing negligence or errors can happen in hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, healthcare facilities, and outpatient services.
Common Reasons Nursing Errors Occur
While there are several different reasons for nursing errors, these are the most common:
- Hospital downsizing that causes nursing shortages which leads to a heavier workload for nurses
- Advancements in technology and improper training or failure to stay up-to-date
- Failure to collaborate with other healthcare team members
- Hospitals’ failure to limit overtime
- Failure to properly staff hospitals and patient care units with enough nursing staff
- Failure to communicate critical information to patients and their families
- Failure to properly or timely measure a patient’s vital signs
- Failure to correctly or timely administer medications
Common Medical Errors Made by Nurses
Medication Errors
Medication Errors are one of the most common errors made in hospitals and care facilities. This could be for many reasons: system errors, mislabeled medication, poor labeling, incorrect prescriptions, and unrecognized allergies or interactions with other medications.
Falling
Falling is the leading cause of injury and death in older people and affects one out of three adults aged 65 and older each year according to the Centers for Disease Control. Just the slightest of falls can cause serious injuries. A lack of checking in on patients at timely intervals may cause some patients to try and help themselves out of bed, even those who are too weak or too sick and need assistance.
Infections
Infections are a common problem within hospitals. The Centers for Disease Control reported that hospital infections account for 99,000 deaths in America per year. Hygiene is one of the most vital practices for nursing staff. If nurses do not practice strict hand hygiene, infections are easily spread and can be fatal, especially if those infections are not recognized and treated quickly.
Nurse Documentation Errors
Documentation Errors are more common than people realize. Recording information relating to a patient is a very important part of being a nurse and is an essential part of the job. It is critically vital that a nurse records a patient’s health and drug information, medications they’ve been given, any discontinued medications, reactions to certain medications, changes in a patient’s condition, or any other pertinent information that should be in the patient’s chart.
Get Help from an Experienced Team of Nursing Malpractice Lawyers
Dr. Kramer is not only a licensed medical malpractice lawyer in California, but he is also a licensed medical doctor, so he can evaluate medical injuries caused by nursing errors or nursing malpractice in a way that few lawyers can.
If you have recently been treated by a nurse or a member of a nursing staff and you suffered a medical injury as a result of that care, give The Trial Law Offices of Bradley I. Kramer, M.D., Esq. a call at 310-289-2600 so our medical malpractice attorney can help you get the maximum compensation for your nursing negligence injuries.