Because nurses are assuming an ever-widening list of patient-care responsibilities, you may be anxious about the possibility of facing a lawsuit one day. Before learning steps you can take to avoid a lawsuit, you'll need to know more about two terms: negligence and malpractice.
Negligence usually is defined as a failure to exercise the degree of care that a person of ordinary prudence would exercise under the same circumstances. To be successful, a claim of negligence must meet three criteria:
1. A person owed a duty to the person making the claim.
2. The duty was breached.
3. The breach resulted in injury to the person making the claim.
Malpractice is a more restricted, specialized kind of negligence. It's defined as a violation of professional duty, failure to meet a standard of care, or failure to use the skills and knowledge of other professionals in similar circumstances.
You can take steps to avoid liability by using caution and common sense and by maintaining heightened awareness of your legal responsibilities. Follow the guidelines below to steer clear of legal pitfalls.
* Know your own strengths … and weaknesses. Don't accept responsibility that you aren't prepared for. If you make an error, claiming that you weren't familiar with the unit's procedures won't protect you against liability.
* Refuse assignments you can't safely perform. You may be assigned to work in a specialized unit, which is reasonable as long as you're assigned duties you can perform competently and as long as an experienced nurse in the unit assumes responsibility for the specialized duties. Assigning you to perform total patient care in the unit is unsafe if you don't have the skills or expertise to plan and deliver the care.
* Delegate safely. Exercise great care when delegating duties because you may be held responsible for subordinates. Inspect all equipment and machinery regularly and be sure that subordinates use them competently and safely. Report incompetent health care personnel through the facility's chain of command.
* Get clear orders. Never treat any patient without orders from his health care provider except in an emergency, and don't practice outside the scope of your license. For example, only physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners prescribe or dispense medication, as defined in each state's laws. Don't carry out an order from a health care provider if you have any doubt about its accuracy or appropriateness. Follow your facility's policy for clarifying an ambiguous order. Document your efforts to clarify the order and note whether it was carried out.
* Be particularly careful with medications. Medication errors are the most common and potentially most dangerous of nursing errors. Make sure you use the “five rights” of medication administration: right patient, right drug, right dose, right route, right time.
* Stay on your patient's good side. Trial attorneys have a saying: “If you don't want to be sued, don't be rude.” Always remain calm when a patient or his family gets upset. Patients need to know the truth about mistakes and complications, but you should communicate this information with discretion and sensitivity.
* Don't offer opinions (ever). Avoid offering your opinion when a patient asks what you think is the matter with him. Reply with “just the facts.”
* Before you sign … read! Never sign your name as a witness without fully understanding what you're signing as well as the legal significance of your signature.
* Stick to the FACTs. From a legal standpoint, documenting care is as important as giving the care. If a procedure wasn't documented, the courts assume it wasn't done. Make sure you document all observations, decisions, and actions. The patient's chart, when taken into the courtroom, is a nurse's best evidence of the care given. The documentation should follow the FACT rule: Factual, Accurate, Complete, and Timely.
* Do the right thing. Don't let a patient undergo a surgical procedure unless you're satisfied he's given proper informed consent. Never force a patient to accept treatment he's expressly refused. Don't use equipment that you haven't been taught to use.
* Use restraints as a last resort. Follow guidelines from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, your state, and your facility about using restraints. Use them only as a last resort; if you must use them, apply and check them correctly, following your facility's policy and procedure. Document exactly the restrained patient's status; the need, number, and kind of restraint used; and the reason for its use. An omission or failure to monitor a restrained patient may result in a malpractice claim.
* Prevent patient falls. Patient falls are a very common area of nursing liability. Patients who are elderly, infirm, sedated, or mentally incapacitated are the most likely to fall. The best way to avoid liability is to prevent falls from occurring in the first place. Institute a fall-prevention protocol in your facility and stick to it.
* Be familiar with advance directives. Be aware of your state's laws about advance directives, such as living wills and durable power of attorney. Patients should be queried about their advance directives on admission, and their wishes should be noted on their chart.
* Follow facility policies and procedures. Be familiar with the policies and procedures of the facility where you work. If they're sound and you follow them carefully, they can protect you against a malpractice claim.
* Provide a safe environment. When providing care, don't use faulty equipment. Clearly mark the equipment as defective and unusable. After repairs are made, don't use the equipment until technicians demonstrate that it's operating properly. Document the steps you took to handle the problems with faulty equipment to show that you followed the facility's policy and procedures.
http://mobile.journals.lww.com/nursing/ ... ?year=2003
Ad blocker detected: Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker on our website.
How nurses can avoid negligence and malpractice lawsuits
- Nursejobng
- Reactions:
- Posts: 117
- Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2012 3:46 pm
- Years of practice: 10
- Contact:
How nurses can avoid negligence and malpractice lawsuits
Unread post by Nursejobng »
"Nursing is an Art of Critical Thinking and Caring".
-
- Similar Topics
- Replies
- Views
- Last post
-
-
Nurses in diaspora, what practice experience have you gained you want to share with nurses back home?
Replies: 4by Kunle Emmanuel » Sat Mar 12, 2022 4:02 pm » in Nurse to Nurse Discussion - 4 Replies
- 2810 Views
-
Last post by Queenet
Tue Mar 15, 2022 3:24 pm
-
-
-
International Nurses Week Celebration Videos by Naija Nurses Forum
Last post by Kunle Emmanuel « Sat May 14, 2022 2:22 pmReplies: 3
Posted in Nursing Inspirations, Jokes, and Quotesby Queenet » Wed May 11, 2022 5:07 pm » in Nursing Inspirations, Jokes, and Quotes - 3 Replies
- 1969 Views
-
Last post by Kunle Emmanuel
Sat May 14, 2022 2:22 pm
-
-
-
NANNM President Felicitates with Nurses, Urge Government on Improved Consolidated Nurses Salary Structure
by Queenet » Tue Dec 28, 2021 11:20 am » in Nursing Related News & Articles - 0 Replies
- 1466 Views
-
Last post by Queenet
Tue Dec 28, 2021 11:20 am
-
-
-
What is nurses don't do this and that?
by Kunle Emmanuel » Wed Sep 02, 2020 10:39 am » in Nurse to Nurse Discussion - 0 Replies
- 3647 Views
-
Last post by Kunle Emmanuel
Wed Sep 02, 2020 10:39 am
-
-
-
Why are there so many Nigerian nurses in UK?
Replies: 2by Joyce » Thu Sep 01, 2022 10:12 am » in Nurse to Nurse Discussion - 2 Replies
- 5459 Views
-
Last post by Joyce
Thu Sep 01, 2022 10:17 am
-
Return to “Clinical Nursing Blog”
Jump to
- Announcements, Feedback & Support
- ↳ Welcome Message To All Visitors
- ↳ Announcement & Tutorial
- ↳ Forum Rules - Read Before Posting
- Nursing News
- ↳ Nursing Related News & Articles
- ↳ Nurse to Nurse Discussion
- ↳ General Health News
- ↳ Male Nurses
- ↳ Retired Nurses
- Jobs in Nursing and Healthcare
- ↳ Nursing Job & Recruitment
- MCPDP for Nurses & Midwives
- ↳ MCPDP for Nurses & Midwives
- ↳ Continuous Education
- Nursing Education
- ↳ Student Nurses Discussion and News
- ↳ Nursing Inspirations, Jokes, and Quotes
- Public Health Adviser
- ↳ Public Health Education
- ↳ Maternal & Child Health Education
- ↳ Sexual Health Education
- ↳ Public Discussion Forum
- Clinical Nursing Discussion
- ↳ Clinical Nursing Blog
- ↳ Specialty Nursing Discussion Forum
- ↳ Free Nursing e-Book
- ↳ MEDICAL EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS HD
- Nursing Digital Skill Empowerment Program
- ↳ Nursing Digital Skill Program
- Workplace Safety Forum
- ↳ Safety Health Enviroment SHE Topics
- Marketing Online
- ↳ Marketing Medical Products
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 165 guests