Category archives for Nursing Malpractice

Nursing Care: Responsibility and Potential Liability

Legally where does the responsibility of the nurse begin and end?  If an order that a physician writes causes harm to the patient and the nurse that followed through with the order had the knowledge and experience to know that the order could/would cause harm to the patient, does that nurse not bear some responsibility […]

DOES IV INFILTRATION/EXTRAVASATION SUGGEST NEGLIGENCE?

I have had the opportunity to review quite a few cases that involved IV infiltration/extravasation and have been deposed in two of those cases.  But can one assume that all IV infiltrations suggest negligence on the part of the nursing staff caring for the patient? IV sites infiltrate every day through no fault of the […]

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words

I have had the opportunity recently to review two cases involving significant injuries stemming from an IV infiltration.  Both of these cases involved medications infusing peripherally that if at all possible should have been infusing via central access.  The documentation with both of these cases was also very confusing.  Some infusions did not have the […]

Nursing Documentation: Legal Ramifications

Nursing Documentation:  Legal Ramifications My experience as a clinical bedside nurse and a legal nurse consultant has proven to me that many nurses simply do not understand the medical and legal ramifications of poor, incomplete documentation.  Yes, the medical record is a document that, if not properly utilized, can lead to problems for the healthcare […]

DOES AN RN HAVE TO FOLLOW EVERY ORDER A DOCTOR WRITES? WHAT ABOUT MISSING ORDERS?

In reviewing files as a Legal Nurse Consultant one has to be acutely aware of the nurses’ responsibility in different scenarios.  Yes, physicians are held liable for writing inappropriate orders, inaccurate orders, and for not writing orders; but nurses, using sometimes simple knowledge and at other times specialized knowledge should know when to not follow […]