Hospital Errors
Hospitals are supposed to be safe, trusted places where you seek quality medical care. When you are admitted to a hospital, you expect a certain standard of treatment. If that treatment is not delivered and you or your loved one suffer further injuries, that hospital should be held accountable.
A majority of hospitals in the United States are in trouble. Many staff members, including nurses, are overworked and poorly supervised. Critical channels of communication are also frequently broken. In the hurried atmosphere of overburdened hospitals, patients do not always get quality attention. The focus on quick diagnosis and rapid turnaround can lead to a number of medical mistakes, from incorrect diagnoses to premature patient release.
At The Cochran Firm, we know how difficult it is to accept a nursing error. Our talented attorneys will help you win your claim and collect the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
Common Reasons for Nursing Errors
Often times, nursing staff have more interaction with patients than doctors. If the hospital is understaffed and nurses are overworked or poorly trained, this can lead to nursing errors.
Miscommunication between a nurse and doctor or from one department to the next can lead to hospital errors. Even with the most advanced medical equipment, human error can prevail over advancements in modern medicine.
Types of Nursing and Hospital Errors
Other nursing and hospital errors include:
- Pharmaceutical injuries, such as the wrong dose or administering medicine to the wrong patient
- Anesthesia errors
- Failure to monitor a patient’s condition or respond to a crisis in a timely manner
- Improper use of a medical device
- Failure to treat infections
- Failure to communicate a patient's change in condition to the doctor
- Performing procedures not trained to do
- Failure to diagnose an emerging problem
When the Hospital is Responsible
Like a typical employer, hospitals have a moral and legal responsibility to ensure their employees are sufficiently trained to handle any reports of negligence or incompetence.
A hospital may be held responsible if it:
- Hires a nurse or other employee who has a record of providing substandard care
- Fails to fire an employee who works under the influence of drugs, alcohol or pills (not prescribed to them)
Hospital negligence cases are often very complex. Hospitals tend to have entire legal teams whose sole purpose is to prevent patients and their families from collecting the compensation they need for medical bills and emotional anguish.
If you have been injured because of a nursing error or hospital negligence, do not hesitate to take action. Please contact the medical negligence attorneys at The Cochran Firm, serving clients nationwide.