Wrongful death lawsuit claims breach of normal of care

I also emphasized that failure to take care of standards of care can lead to liability on your facility. The following case is one other great example of how vital it’s for nursing staff to take care of their standards of care.

Details of the case

The patient got here to the emergency room with chest tightness, cough, fever, sinus problems, and headache. The physician diagnosed the patient with acute coronary syndrome and placed her on a therapeutic dose of a blood-thinning anticoagulant. The next day, the diagnosis was modified to a “hypertensive emergency” without acute coronary syndrome. The physician intended to vary the patient’s therapeutic dose of the blood-thinning anticoagulant to a prophylactic dose and noted this in his progress notes. However, he didn’t create a separate physician order for the change in dosage (the ability didn’t have a policy for physicians to document such a change individually). On the third day of the patient’s hospitalization, the physician noted that the patient was experiencing constipation and abdominal discomfort. The physician planned to order a CT scan of the abdomen and an MRI of the brain. On the fourth day, the patient’s blood pressure was low, and two small abdominal bruises were detected. No further anticoagulation was given. The patient suffered an acute and severe hemorrhage on the fifth day and was transferred to the ICU. She was treated with multiple blood transfusions and placed on a ventilator, amongst other medical interventions, but died in hospital two weeks later.

Patient’s husband files wrongful death lawsuit

The patient’s husband filed a lawsuit against the doctor and the health care facility. The husband accused the nursing staff of the health care facility of:

1. He didn’t judge his wife properly
2. Misinterpretation of diagnostic data regarding wife’s health
3. No symptoms of hematoma, renal failure or life-threatening bleeding were identified
4. Failure to supply the physician with a very powerful clinical and laboratory test leads to an accurate and timely manner
5. Failure to scale back the dose or discontinue the therapeutic anticoagulant as directed by the physician

The husband also claimed that the continued administration of an anticoagulant medication caused his wife’s death. The husband supported his allegations by submitting an authority medical report stating how the allegations cited by the husband violated the standards of look after nursing staff and the physician. For the needs of this blog, the violated standards of look after nursing staff include:

• Failure to observe patient records for recommendations and follow-up care
• Continuing to manage life-threatening anticoagulation medications for 2 days in violation of a physician’s documented treatment plan and when the patient’s condition doesn’t indicate otherwise
• Failure to promptly inform the physician of changes within the patient’s condition, including low blood pressure

The expert also found that a therapeutic dose of anticoagulant medication, when it was not needed, caused the patient to bleed heavily and die. The healthcare facility filed a motion to dismiss the husband’s criticism and opposed the expert’s opinion. The court of first instance dismissed the motion to dismiss, and the ability appealed that ruling.

After reviewing the applicable law, the court affirmed the trial court’s decision to refute the ability’s motion to dismiss and to just accept the expert’s report as a good summary of the breach of the usual of care. The appellate court opined that the expert’s report contained detailed details about what the nursing staff must have done based on established nursing standards of care and practice. The facility’s argument that the report was not detailed enough was without merit at this stage of the proceedings. Moreover, the report made a direct connection between the nursing staff’s breach of their standard of care and the patient’s life-threatening injuries. According to the expert’s report, the long-term administration of anticoagulants caused the patient’s death.

Conclusions to contemplate

1. This case illustrates how the required elements of knowledgeable negligence/wrongful death case are assessed by a court. These elements include duty, breach of duty, proximate cause and injury/damage.
2. More facts can be discovered because the case progresses through the formal phases of the lawsuit. In this case, the vital issue was whether the case met the state’s requirements for the lawsuit to proceed. The expert’s report met those requirements, so the court ruled the case could proceed.
3. The nurses who cared for this patient weren’t named as defendants within the lawsuit. Instead, their negligence in caring for the patient led to the healthcare facility being held vicariously liable. This principle is referred to as let the superior answer (“Speak up.”) However, as more facts are discovered, it is feasible that the nursing staff members can be added as defendants by the husband or the health care facility. If so, the nurses could possibly be sued individually as employees of the ability.
4. As the case progresses through the following phases, expert witness reports can be needed for the doctor (doctor witness) and nurses added to the claim (nurse witness).

Keep in mind that lawsuits, especially skilled negligence/wrongful death lawsuits, can take years to resolve—whether the resolution is a jury verdict, an agreed-upon settlement, or a dismissal for cause. Also, take into account that lawsuits are expensive. Deposits, discovery filings, expert witness fees, and other costs may be overwhelming. If you haven’t already, purchase your personal skilled liability insurance policy. For the fee of an annual premium, you receive financial support through the lawsuit, which incorporates your personal attorney, whose fees are covered by your insurance agreement.