Bensenville Nursing Errors Attorneys

Lawyers for Injuries Caused by Negligent Nurses and Medical Staff in Elmhurst and Park Ridge Areas

Medical malpractice can occur in many different forms, and doctors are not the only medical professionals who can be negligent. In fact, when you visit a hospital, emergency room, or another medical facility, you are likely to have more interactions with nurses than with a doctor, surgeon, or physician specialist. In general, nurses are responsible for monitoring patients' conditions and making sure patients receive the proper care. When a nurse fails in this responsibility, the consequences can be drastic.

At Kaiser Law, our skilled attorneys understand that negligent nursing errors are considered a type of medical malpractice. Throughout our firm's 30-year history, our lawyers have helped clients recover millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts, including many involving negligence by nursing staff. With our background and experience, we are equipped to help you and your family seek compensation following an injury related to nursing malpractice.

Common Types of Nursing Mistakes

There is no question that nurses have a critical role in modern medicine, and they often are tasked with a wide range of important responsibilities. Nurses are generally responsible for monitoring vital signs, helping patients and doctors develop treatment plans, conducting diagnostic tests, giving medications, and keeping patients and their families informed regarding their options and what to expect from their treatment.

With so many crucial responsibilities, any errors or mistakes that occur can result in very serious consequences for a nurse's patients. Some of the most common nursing errors that can cause patients to suffer unnecessarily include:

• Inadequate patient monitoring: This is most common in a hospital setting, but it can happen anywhere that nurses interact with patients. Nurses must monitor their patients' vital signs, along with other details about the patients' condition. Failing to keep up with a patient's changing condition could lead to delays in getting the treatment the patient needs.
• Poor communication: When a patient's condition changes, nurses must quickly report the change to the appropriate doctors so that the changes can be addressed. Doing so is especially important when a patient's condition can change quickly, such as following a major surgery. When a nurse fails to communicate properly, the patient could be placed in serious danger.
• Not advocating for patients: Of all medical professionals, nurses spend the most time interacting directly with patients. Therefore, they tend to have a good understanding of how to meet their patients' needs. Nurses should use this knowledge to help doctors develop a treatment plan. If a doctor does not provide the proper care and fails to take a nurse's input into account, the nurse should make the facility's administrators aware of the situation. The patient's health could depend on the nurse's advocacy.
• Medication mistakes: Nurses are often responsible for administering drugs—both over the counter and prescription drugs—to patients. A patient who is given the wrong medication or the wrong dose could be seriously harmed. It is up to the nurse to ensure that the patient receives the correct type and amount of the medication at the proper time.

Building a Case for Compensation

In order for you to collect compensation for injuries you suffered as a result of an error by a nurse or other medical staff member, you will need to show that the error was caused by negligence. At Kaiser Law, we respect the dedication that nurses demonstrate to their patients every day. We also realize that nurses are human, and they make mistakes occasionally. A mistake is one thing. A mistake that stems from negligence is another thing entirely.

A nursing error is considered negligence—and malpractice—if the care that you received was below the prevailing standard of care. In short, if another nurse with similar training and experience would probably have made the same mistake, your nurse was likely not negligent. However, if most other nurses would have avoided the mistake, there is a good chance your nurse acted negligently.

Our attorneys will work closely with you to determine how the mistake happened, why, and which party or parties should be held liable. From there we will work hard to get you the full compensation you deserve. We will fight for you at the negotiating table and in the courtroom in pursuit of justice under the law.

Schedule a Free Consultation Today

If you or someone you love was harmed by a nursing error, contact our office to discuss your options for taking action. Call 630-274-4400 for a free consultation with one of our experienced medical malpractice attorneys today. We represent clients in Cook County, DuPage County, and the surrounding communities.