Advice - would this lead to a lawsuit?

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If you failed to inform the physician the patient's BP was 210/100 on several occasions, would that act of omission most likely lead to a lawsuit?

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If you failed to inform the physician the patient's BP was 210/100 on several occasions, would that act of omission most likely lead to a lawsuit?

don't have a crystal ball and can't speak to who sues over what, but I would think the nurse who noticed an unusually (and previously undocumented) elevation in BP would notify the PCP. Are you asking because you're the CNA who took the vitals and did not report them, or are you the CNA who did report them but are concerned the information didn't get where you think it needed to go?

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Was there any patient detriment as a result of this?

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Only if something bad happened to the patient as a result.

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As to whether it would LEAD to enquiries about a lawsuit, that depends on the people who knew about it and how much they cared.

As to whether such a lawsuit would proceed, the answer is: Maybe, if it's documented that the prescriber was to be notified of a BP over X/Y (either by specific request or by facility policy), and as a result of lack of notification the prescriber was unable to initiate an appropriate medical plan of care, and the patient was actually harmed by this delay/lack. (note: "Might have been" isn't a good enough standard.)

As to whether it would succeed in awarding of damages...well, that would depend on whether there are any, and a lot of other things.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Generally, unless a patient is deceased or irreparably injured due to something the nurse has done or omitted, a lawsuit will usually not occur.

Malpractice lawsuits carry profound risk and expense for lawyers, so they normally do not accept a case unless a clear cause of action (read: irreparable harm or death) and the potential of sizable monetary recovery both exist.

I wrote about this issue several years ago. Click on the link below if you have a few minutes to burn.

https://allnurses.com/first-year-after/legal-food-for-819363.html

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