JustAnswers.com, Do You Have Medical Questions? Talk to A Doctor, Nurse Now! Nursefriendly.com (homepage) About Us Add URL Advertising Ask The Nurse Contact Us Free Nursing E-mail, Check Your Mail Gifts For Nurses Linking Policy Privacy Policy Search Our Sites Social Networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc) What's New |
See also: Medical, Legal Nurse Consultants, Courtrooms, Disability, Discrimination, Employment, Expert Witnesses, Informed Consent, Medical Malpractice, Nursing Practice Acts, Pensions, Search Engines, Torts and Personal Injury, Unemployment, Workers Compensation, Workplace Safety:
please click here. Subscriptions to the Case of the Week are Free. Each week a case will be reviewed and supplemented with clinical and legal resources from the web. Legal Nurse Consultants and nursing professionals are welcome to submit relevant articles. Please contact us if you'd like to reproduce our material.
The court clearly recognized that a pregnant patient with active vaginal bleeding and abdominal pain could have presented a medical emergency. Follow-up assessment and further action on the part of the nurse was not a matter of Nursing "judgement," it was mandatory. It noted that the woman was in fact in the early stages of a miscarriage and gave a classic symptomatology & presentation. "Bleeding and cramping are the most common symptoms of miscarriage. Pregnant women with these symptoms should consult their physicians immediately. A physical examination, ultrasound testing and blood tests gauging hormonal levels are used to ascertain whether the fetus has been miscarried"3 The court observed that according to the documentation of the event, the nurse assessed her condition and made decisions based on the single taking of a pulse. In assessing the abdominal pain of a actively bleeding pregnant patient, standards of care as defined by the state Nurse Practice Acts would clearly have dictated a more detailed assessment and physician notification. The nurse whether inexperienced with the situation or indifferent towards the patient's symptoms was clearly negligent. Prudent assessments including a blood pressure, auscultation of bowel sounds & fetal heartbeat, location/duration of abdominal pain, temperature, and respirations were omitted from her evaluation. No physician (or applicable supervisory) notification of the possible medical emergency was made. There was no question that the "prudent nurse," that is an average nurse in the same situation, would have taken more thorough steps to assess the situation and evaluate the patient's condition. By failing to take appropriate actions, the nurse allowed a potentially life-threatening condition to go untreated. It is worthy of note here that complaints against the nurse's license would be expected (either by the plaintiff or the facility later). If the facility was compelled to defend the nurse under an existing employer's malpractice policy, it is likely that a subrogation action could be initiated afterwards. If an award was made because of the nurse's negligence, the hospital could try to recover that amount by suing the nurse as an individual. Filing a complaint and having action taken against the nurse's license, in addition to firing her would strengthen their position. It is certain, that the employer would not defend the nurse against a State Board of Nursing inquiry. A nurse with a separate personal malpractice policy (An average cost today for a 1-3 Million Dollar Policy is near $80/year), would have an attorney hired by the Nurse's insurance company and looking out for his/her interests, not those of the employer. Specific malpractice companies will also provide an attorney if a nurse is called before the State Board of Nursing at no additional fee. This is a benefit you should ask for when obtaining a personal malpractice insurance policy. Related Cases: July 25, 1999: Premature Child of Cocaine Addicted Mother Survives Abortion. Physician Order: Leave To Die? The premature birth of a child under normal circumstances requires highly skilled nursing and medical care if the child is to survive. The birth of a premature child to a known Cocaine addicted mother greatly increased the risks of mortality. In this case, a child intended to be aborted is born alive. When the physician orders that the child be to left to die, it miraculously survives on its own. Were the nurses liable for "following orders?" Hartsell v. Fort Sanders Reg. Med. Ctr. 905 S.W. 2d 944 - TN (1995). https://nursefriendly.com/nursing/clinical.cases/072599.htm May 30, 1999: Patient Left Unrestrained, Patient Injured. Nurses Judgement Call The decision to use or not use restraints must be made with caution and good judgement. Their intended purpose must be to protect either the patient or others who may be injured by the patient including the staff caring for the client. The ultimate determination of necessity is left with the physician. Often, the moment to moment necessity is determined by the nurse. In this case a nurse did not feel restraining the patient was necessary. When an injury occurred, the patient sued. Gerard v. Sacred Heart Medical Center - 937 P. 2d 1104 (1997) https://nursefriendly.com/nursing/clinical.cases/053099.htm Related Link Sections: Clinical Charting and Documentation, Nurses Notes https://nursefriendly.com/nursing/directpatientcare/clinical.documentation.nurses.notes.htm Courtroom Directory: http://www.legalnursingconsultant.org/legal.nurse.consultants.lnc/courtrooms.online.htm Direct Patient Care Links https://nursefriendly.com/nursing/linksections/directpatientcarelinks.htm Ethics: https://nursefriendly.com/nursing/directpatientcare/ethics.htm Medical Legal Consulting Nurse Entrepreneurs: https://nursefriendly.com/nursing/ymedlegal.htm Miscarriages, Education & Support, Pregnancy Obstetrics & Gynecology https://nursefriendly.com/nursing/directpatientcare/pregnancy.obstetrics.gynecology/miscarriages.htm Nurse Practice Acts http://www.legalnursingconsultant.org/legal.nurse.consultants.lnc/nurse.practice.acts.htm Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Nurses https://nursefriendly.com/nursing/directory/spec/nicu.htm Obstetric Nurses https://nursefriendly.com/nursing/directory/spec/obstetric.html Premature Infants, Low Birth Weight Babies : https://nursefriendly.com/nursing/directpatientcare/obstetrics/premature.infant.low.birth.weight.baby.htm Sources:
https://nursefriendly.com/nursing/clinical.cases/080899.htm Created on August 5, 1999
Last updated by Andrew Lopez, RN on March 23, 2017
This Page is Part of The Nursefriendly National Nursing A To Z & Consumer Health Directories
We are Incorporated in The State of New Jersey, under the name:
(Visit our Nursing Downloads Page for our site file Torrents)
Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or mark holders, and are not owned or affiliated with Nursefriendly, Inc. or any of it's affiliated companies. |