Sample nurse malpractice suits

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

all, i came across this and thought you might be interested., what with all the ongoing concern about "losing my license" and "legally speaking." it's available on a website that summarizes judgments/verdicts (not necessarily all nursing-related). all are a matter of public record, which is why names are included.

http://www.verdictsearch.com/index.jsp?do=hot

nursing malpractice verdicts & settlements

$8,500,000 infant's brain damage blamed on delivery room nurses' failure to act after detecting severe drop in heart rate of fetus. defense contended placental infection caused brain damage. ordonez v. bayonne medical center hudson co., n.j.; super. ct.; no. hud-l-3895-07 (3/21/11)

$5,402,748 hospital's patient claimed nurse ignored bedsore, leading to infection and hip problem that necessitates his use of a wheelchair. defense blamed infection on patient's comorbidities. messina v. deblasi

richmond co., n.y.; sup. ct.; no. 104742/07 (6/3/11)

$1,600,000 rehab facility's patient wandered off of grounds and died. suit alleged nurses didn't watch him and allowed him to leave three other times. defense noted decedent was a voluntary patient. estate of williams v. marworth

lackawanna co., pa.; ct. c.p.; no. 01-cv-2633 (3/16/11) $927,000 neurobiologist sustained nerve damage in hand as a result of nurse's improper insertion of catheter. defense disputed plaintiff's claim that she can't pursue medical research career. gastard v. paoli hospital

chester co., pa.; ct. c.p.; no. 2009-13680 (6/17/11)

$850,000 prisoner who suffered vascular disease in leg claimed prison's nurses ignored circulatory problem that led to amputation. defense contended amputation couldn't have been avoided. neuen v. primecare medical inc.

e.d. pa.; no. 5:09-cv-05090-las (4/28/11)

$850,000 nurses used wrong catheter on surgical patient's bladder, tearing urethra and necessitating more surgeries. defense contended correct catheter wasn't in operating room. steen v. usmd hospital at arlington l.p.

tarrant co., texas; dist. ct.; no. 131-241343-09 (4/12/11)

defense hospital's patient suffered fatal compression of heart. estate claimed warning signs went unnoticed because nurse didn't frequently monitor patient. defense contended death wasn't foreseeable. estate of woodworth v. brown

okaloosa co., fla.; cir. ct.; no. 03-ca-611 (8/5/11)

defense nurse sued for not watching patient with seizure disorder. patient suffered seizure, fell off gurney and broke hip. nurse claimed she didn't know patient hadn't taken her seizure medication. kerley v. tri-city healthcare district

san diego co., calif.; super. ct.; no. 37-2008-00102040-cu-pn-nc (6/20/11)

defense nurse gave surgical patient 1,000 times the prescribed dose of blood-pressure booster. suit's parties debated whether overdose caused stroke, respiratory problems. kopishke v. noorchashm

philadelphia co., pa.; ct. c.p.; no. 081102588 (3/14/11)

defense patient hurt in gurney accident during wake of eye surgery, suffers blindness. suit alleged nurse erred by placing patient on gurney, rather than in wheelchair. defense challenged causation. emestica v. combs

los angeles co., calif.; super. ct.; no. bc400424 (2/18/11)

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

Here is another site with case studies (some were found guilty some not) that relate to all types of nursing and other medical topics. Very interesting reading.

http://www.nursinglaw.com/

Scroll down to view by topic.

[UpinawayRN]

What a scary reminder of how MUCH responsibility a nurse has. Even giving a med as ordered can cost you a lawsuit! It is good to read through these sometimes, ridiculous scenarios. With computerized charting, I think it can lead to potentially more lawsuits than old school.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

sorry about the formatting-- i have edited it twice to separate out the cases for easy reading and it still comes up hash. the $$ amount or "defense" is the first item in each case.

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

These are scary times we live in.

[Flo., BSN, RN]

Makes me want to get out of nursing.

[Good Morning, Gil]

Does not have to be scary. Most of those are cases of negligence, so if you intervene when it's very obvious to intervene, no issues....

I don't understand the eye surgery one, though....I mean...who cares that she put him on a gurney? What am I missing here? (unless they rolled onto their affected eye?). I guess it increases IOP by lying flat? Was that the issue? That's the only thing that comes to mind, but don't gurneys still have the ability for the HOB to elevate? I don't have to worry about eye surgeries, though....that's more of an outpatient thing.

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

Interesting. Thank you for the info.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

the eye surgery one found for the defense, meaning that there was no judgment against the hospital. it says the defense argued about causation, and won, meaning that there was no proof that putting the patient on a gurney had anything to do c his loss of sight.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

Does not have to be scary. Most of those are cases of negligence, so if you intervene when it's very obvious to intervene, no issues....

I don't understand the eye surgery one, though....I mean...who cares that she put him on a gurney? What am I missing here? (unless they rolled onto their affected eye?). I guess it increases IOP by lying flat? Was that the issue? That's the only thing that comes to mind, but don't gurneys still have the ability for the HOB to elevate? I don't have to worry about eye surgeries, though....that's more of an outpatient thing.

You'd be amazed at what fast talking lawyers can weasel out of a corporation. The truth is irrelevant. Period.

I've been sued (along with another nurse, the DON and administrator). There was no negligence. I don't know what the settlement was. The woman was 97 years old- had a GI bleed bad enough for renal failure requiring dialysis which the family refused. She was a train wreck. And, over the 17 days in the facility, she deteriorated (d'oh). When the doc FINALLY saw fit to send her out, the hospital went nuts- and assumed horrible care- NOT that she refused fluids, had so much fluid on board it "puddled" under her wheelchair from her legs, has skin breakdown that was NOT pressure (I saw it- called/faxed that orificewipe MD about it for days, showed it to my DON- and charted that I did, etc), and on and on. And, she died. Without dialysis for 17 days after it was told she required it.

A granddaughter who NEVER came to see her filed the suit...NOT the family that were attentive. The prosecuting attorneys tried to say she was A&O x4 when she was admitted...I admitted her- she didn't' know her own name- never mind where, when, or why she was. Wanted to know why we didn't feed her...WE DID.. SHE wouldn't eat. MD ordered NOTHING differently. (he, by the way, did NOT get sued- and was notorious about not returning calls).

You don't know who the wolves are- and what Alpha Mongrels they hire.

And- you have to worry about EVERYBODY-- the same outpatient patients DO end up inpatient and become your problem...people sue because they can sue without merit (I am NOT saying that all cases are meritless- there are always things that you don't hear however). People who are likely to sue will find something- or their relatives will.