Hiring an Experienced NY Medical Malpractice Lawyer for Nursing Errors

Everyone commits mistakes once in a while, and making errors is even considered as a defining characteristic of humanity. Even hospitals, doctors, and nurses can commit errors; however, these lapses are more crucial than most because these can cost a patient’s life. You might be at first reluctant to hire a reliable NY medical malpractice lawyer because you think that malpractice claims are only limited to doctors. However, nurses are also liable under the law, especially if their negligence or error had fatal consequences.

Nurses, especially new ones, are more susceptible to mistakes since they are usually overworked. One particular error a nurse can commit is giving the wrong medication to a patient, which can worsen the latter’s condition. One of the most widely-known incidents of this nature happened in 2011, when a Seattle nurse gave an unintended overdose of medicine to an infant heart patient, which caused the latter’s death not long after. This incident gained the attention of many, particularly after the nurse committed suicide upon her dismissal from the hospital.

Mistakes in handing out medication have been found to be some of the most prevalent errors among nurses, and there are other mistakes that could drastically change a patient’s condition. Nurses can get puzzled as to how and in what part of the body they should inject or apply a particular medication or ointment, especially when left without the supervision of a doctor. In addition, in periods of extraordinary stress, nurses might overlook orders or fail to collect important information about the patients under their care. Delays in giving out the proper treatment for patients are also common mistakes.

For their part, nurses should exercise proper care when performing their duties, because this is what patients expect of them. Patients form bonds with their nurses, and they fully trust medical professionals to alleviate their pain; doing otherwise is like breaking this trust. When a loved one’s death could have been preventable, medical malpractice lawyers in Long Island, NY–like the professionals working under the Law Offices of Joseph Lichtenstein–can help you claim the compensation you deserve.

(Source: 5 embarrassing new nurse mistakes, Scrubs)