Can nurse-related errors after an operation lead to a malpractice lawsuit?

After an operation, it is necessary for patients to receive an adequate amount of care due to the risks of complications that can occur. Post-op nurses have a serious obligation to provide the highest level of care possible to a patient while making sure the patient’s needs are met. If the nurse fails to provide the level of care that the patient needs and deserves, it can lead to complications that put a patient’s life at risk. Those complications could also cause an individual to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the post-op nurse and the hospital where things happened.

Failure to Properly Monitor a Patient

Monitoring a patient after an operation is a must. Nurses should be coming in and out of the room periodically to check the patient’s vitals and to ask questions about how they are feeling. If the patient has any complaints, it is up to the nurse to address those issues and to let a physician know what is going on. For example, if a patient is experiencing a significant amount of pain, the nurse could let the physician know and then the physician would examine the patient to see if there is reason to be concerned. Failure to properly monitor a patient could lead to serious problems for the patient. A patient could begin bleeding out internally without anyone noticing because they are not taking the time to monitor the patient.

Providing the Wrong Medication or Dosage

A lack of monitoring is not the only problem that can occur when a patient is recovering from an operation. The nurse may provide the wrong medication to the patient, mixing it up with medication that belongs to someone else. Even if the right medication is provided to the patient, the nurse could give the wrong dosage. The wrong dosage could cause harm to a patient and put that person at risk of suffering from cardiac arrest or other serious consequences. The nurse might have given the wrong dosage because they were not paying attention to what they were doing when working with the patient.

Clots and Other Issues

Nurses have received the required training to be able to identify issues that can happen when a patient is recovering from an operation. If they fail to notice these issues, such as blood clots or even sepsis that could be present, they are putting the patient at risk of suffering from serious complications. These complications can even cause a patient to lose their life over something that was avoidable. If they lose their lives, their loved ones can file a lawsuit on their behalf.

When nursing errors occur, a medical malpractice lawsuit may ensue. The victim of the nursing error is the one who suffered the most at the hands of someone who is in a powerful position and is supposed to provide high-quality care. When recovering from an operation, patients typically expect the nurses to help them and not cause harm to them. Unfortunately, errors can happen and those errors can lead to litigation before the injured party and the negligent health care provider..

Contact a Clark Medical Malpractice Attorney for a Consultation About Your Nurse-Related Errors Case in New Jersey

Were you or a loved one injured due to medical malpractice in New Jersey? Then you need to talk to an experienced medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible for guidance on how to proceed. The Clark Cerebral Palsy medical malpractice attorneys at Team Law are prepared to assist you with your legal claim. We represent victims of negligent surgeons, doctors, nurses, and pharmacists throughout New Jersey, including Clark, West New York, Perth Amboy, and Edison. Call us today at 1-800-832-6529 or fill out our online contact form to schedule a consultation. Our main office is located at 136 Central Avenue, Clark, NJ 07066, and we also have offices in West New York, Perth Amboy, Summit, New Brunswick, Plainfield, Highland Park, Newark, Orange, Jersey City, and Union City.

The articles on this blog are for informative purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.