malpractice?

[mednurse]

My Dad had thoracic aortic aneurysm surgery as an emergency case at age 50. He recovered a few days in the ICU, and then got orders to transfer to the tele floor. I was with him, and he told the ICU nurse that he was in chest pain. She gave him sublingual nitro and asked if this relieved his pain, and he said no. She did not follow up after that. My Dad died of the rupture from his graft 4 hours later. I know we are all busy on our units, but as a nurse I have a hard time accepting that the doctor was not called about my Dad's chest pain. Do you think this nurse commited malpractice?

[fab4fan]

Without both sides, it's impossible to form an opinion one way or the other.

My condolences on your loss.

[SmilingBluEyes]

I am so sorry for your loss. How tragic. I advise you to seek legal counsel. There is NO way I would touch this with a 10 foot pole. I don't know the whole situation and am no expert in cardio-thoracic care. Best wishes and again, my sincere condolences.

[avigail]

Yes, I do think this nurse is possibly guilty of negligence, and therefore, malpractise. I think the standard of care is very plain for complaints of CP, and nitro with no follow up does not meet this standard. The question is whether the nurse informed the receiving floor of the complaint and whatever action she had taken. If so, the negligence would partially devolve onto the tele floor, although, arguably, the original nurse should have contacted the doc and waited to transfer until your Da was stable.

I think you should contact a lawyer.

[sjoe]

avigail writes: "I think you should contact a lawyer."

With exactly WHAT as a goal?--

1) $$$$$$$?

2) To "teach them a lesson so it won't happen to others?" (Like this would increase staffing ratios, etc. and correct the problems that create these kinds of situations in the first place.)

3) For revenge against the nurse? against the facility? against death?

4) To bring him back? (Handled differently, would his quality of life, as contrasted to length of life, likely been substantially prolonged?)

5) To repeatedly re-open this family wound for the 3-5+ years a lawsuit would require?

Attorneys do not have the solution to every unwanted healthcare outcome, IMHO.

[sjoe]

mednurse writes: "Do you think this nurse commited malpractice?"

First of all, sorry for your loss.

As for your question: No way of knowing from this account. The nurse may have been negligent, we don't know what other steps were taken. There may have been a shift change and follow up did not occur, etc. Many possibilities.

[BarbPick]

Was she guilty of acute stupidity? You betcha!, The question is, it it actionable? Find out!

There is a time factor here and it has to be acted upon.

There are many degrees to malpractice.

A good question might be is this wrongful death?

Might be a better way to go. Unfortunately , but then again Fortunately there are many personal injury attorneys.

We really carry Liability Insurance for a very good reason.

Malpractice is not as easy to prove, therefore rarely attempted.

There is a way to focus your anger, besides calling a P I Lawyer, take an Online Medical Legal Consultant Course (which I did 2 years ago) and help yourself and others.

The one I took was at this link.

http://www.floridarisk.com

Sorry for your loss

Barbara

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

I don't think you should take advice from people over the internet. You know the facts in the case, either contact the hospital, doctor or lawyer. Anyone on-line is just guessing. Very sorry for the loss of your father.

[mednurse]

Thank you for your responses. The same nurse he reported chest pain to, was the one that was assigned to him when he died. He was never transferred to the tele floor. Thank you for your condolances.

[tonchitoRN]

sorry about your loss.

what you have witnessed is the erosion of medical care today. nurses are overworked and they can't be perfect. the system is getting worse. this is what happens: people get hurt and worse. never put the care of your loved one into the hands of another and expect them to do the job 100%. they are human and are sometimes faced with pressure to d/c patients before they need to be. they are being asked to do more and more everyday without appropriate resources. now is not the time to blame but maybe later you can put your energies into something productive i.e. advocating for better working conditions for nurses. nurses at the bedside is what saves lives.

[Todd SPN]

Originally posted by sjoe

avigail writes: "I think you should contact a lawyer."

With exactly WHAT as a goal?--

1) $$$$$$$?

2) To "teach them a lesson so it won't happen to others?" (Like this would increase staffing ratios, etc. and correct the problems that create these kinds of situations in the first place.)

3) For revenge against the nurse? against the facility? against death?

4) To bring him back? (Handled differently, would his quality of life, as contrasted to length of life, likely been substantially prolonged?)

5) To repeatedly re-open this family wound for the 3-5+ years a lawsuit would require?

Attorneys do not have the solution to every unwanted healthcare outcome, IMHO.

I don't understand your point. Could you enlighten me?

[LydiaGreen]

The goal is likely closure. How that is achieved is not really for any of us to judge. It is truly up to the family involved. Whatever direction you chose to go in, good luck to you, I hope that it brings the closure that your family needs.