Hospital being sued

Nurses General Nursing

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I left my previous job approximately 6 months ago. It was an acute rehab hospital setting, and the patient acuity was getting higher, patient load heavier, and staffing shortage was just out of control. I no longer felt like it was a safe environment for either my patients or for myself. Today I received a letter from an attorney who is apparently representing my old employer in a case of patient negligence. The letter says the lawsuit does not name me directly, but that I was employed at the time of the patient's hospital stay. His name does look vaguely familiar so I am pretty sure I did take care of him at some point. The attorney asks that I call his office for discussion.

I am freaking out. Has anyone had this happen? I'm assuming I have no choice but to contact the attorney. I was considering calling the Risk Mgt manager at the hospital prior to speaking with any attorney. If anyone could give me some feedback or speak about your experience with lawsuits involving hospitals I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

If you have your own , this is what they are for. Also, don't discuss this anywhere on social media, including this site. Anything you say can be discovered.

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Got it. Thank you Rose_Queen.

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First, contact your malpractice carrier. Then, find your own attorney and see them before you respond. If your malpractice carrier does not make a recommendation, look for an attorney on the referral service here: TAANA Executive Office - Home

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Thank you for the info. I actually do NOT have my own . But I will be sure to find my own attorney.

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Specializes in Healthcare risk management and liability.

Speaking as the person here who actually does medical malpractice claims defense as a risk manager, calm down. You likely have nothing to worry about, and there is certainly no call for you to go out and spend your own money on an attorney. The attorney who is representing the hospital wants to talk to you, probably about your recall of taking care of this particular patient. Go ahead and call the risk manager at your former employer and tell them I said hello. The risk manager will no doubt reassure you and tell you that this attorney is representing the hospital and the employees, including you. I would go ahead and call the attorney back to see what they want. I have written extensively here on what happens in lawsuits, so search for posts under my name, especially regarding any discovery that you may become involved in. Send me a PM if you wish to discuss further.

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Specializes in Med Surg/ICU/Psych/Emergency/CEN/retired.
Speaking as the person here who actually does medical malpractice claims defense as a risk manager, calm down. You likely have nothing to worry about, and there is certainly no call for you to go out and spend your own money on an attorney. The attorney who is representing the hospital wants to talk to you, probably about your recall of taking care of this particular patient. Go ahead and call the risk manager at your former employer and tell them I said hello. The risk manager will no doubt reassure you and tell you that this attorney is representing the hospital and the employees, including you. I would go ahead and call the attorney back to see what they want. I have written extensively here on what happens in lawsuits, so search for posts under my name, especially regarding any discovery that you may become involved in. Send me a PM if you wish to discuss further.

This is excellent advice from RiskManager. And the exact same thing did happen to me. A patient died due to an error by a nurse. Because I had taken care of the patient several times, the hospital attorney wanted to speak with me. I was not named in the suit. I did speak with him on three occasions, and he prepared me well for the deposition that I had to give. I too was scared. The lawsuit ended up being settled settled immediately before going to trial. So I didn't have to testify.

If you want to PM me, I'll be glad to try to answer any other questions you might have. Otherwise, RiskManager sounds like a good resource for you.

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Thank you so much RiskManager. You have set my mind at ease quite a bit! It's a scary situation when you receive a letter from an attorney, esp when it pertains to my job. Its something I've always dreaded but hoped it would never happen to me. I appreciate your feedback.

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Specializes in Healthcare risk management and liability.

Something that I always do when any of my staff might be involved in a claim, is to send them an email providing a broad outline of the claim (while not naming any of the involved staff), give the names and explain the role of the risk/claim manager, defense attorney and insurance company (the defense team), and give them my cell phone number and encourage them to call or email me 24/7/365 if they have any questions, concerns or are contacted by anyone who is not part of the defense team. I do get the occasional call at 0230, but one of the reasons I am paid the medium-sized bucks to be there for the staff as a subject matter expert and to provide emotional support.

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Your need to have before you need it . You didn't want to spend that $100.00 for a policy that would have provided you an attorney now you get to shell out for one that probably bills at $400.00 + EACH HOUR. Get malpractice insurance ladies, it takes like 10 minutes, there is no excuse not to ever have it.

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Specializes in Healthcare risk management and liability.
Your need to have malpractice insurance before you need it . You didn't want to spend that $100.00 for a policy that would have provided you an attorney now you get to shell out for one that probably bills at $400.00 + EACH HOUR. Get malpractice insurance ladies, it takes like 10 minutes, there is no excuse not to ever have it.

This is absolutely wrong, as I have stated in numerous posts. Your own coverage would not be triggered in this situation. If your coverage is not triggered, the insurance company does not provide an attorney.

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing...sk-999441.html

I am of the opinion that buying your own coverage may be a good thing, as long as you are making an educated decision as to what it actually does and does not cover. Most nurses buy it under the mistaken belief that if they are involved in a malpractice claim or a BON investigation, that CNA or Liberty Mutual insurance will retain a lawyer for them and represent their interests, and this only happens in very narrow circumstances in which your own coverage will be triggered. But there are other coverages in the policy which can also be valuable to the purchaser.

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Speaking as the person here who actually does medical malpractice claims defense as a risk manager, calm down. You likely have nothing to worry about, and there is certainly no call for you to go out and spend your own money on an attorney. The attorney who is representing the hospital wants to talk to you, probably about your recall of taking care of this particular patient. Go ahead and call the risk manager at your former employer and tell them I said hello. The risk manager will no doubt reassure you and tell you that this attorney is representing the hospital and the employees, including you. I would go ahead and call the attorney back to see what they want. I have written extensively here on what happens in lawsuits, so search for posts under my name, especially regarding any discovery that you may become involved in. Send me a PM if you wish to discuss further.

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