According to the journal of patient safety, over 400,000 injury cases are recorded the US because of clinical malpractices. Nurses form an important segment of the patient support structure and healthcare systems. However, nurses commonly become subjects to legal malpractice cases. Nurses working in high-risk areas are usually sued. Especially those specialized in adult and surgical fields. Many of these medical malpractice lawsuits occur when accidental death is involved. The following are different ways in which you can help protect your company nurse from malpractice
● Ensure that your nurse has a Malpractice Insurance
A malpractice lawsuit usually threatens the medical license of a nurse. Thus, if a patient sues a nurse because of malpractice, the nurse needs to have a policy in place which can provide him with costs of settlement especially when hiring for a medical malpractice lawyer in Miami, FL and insurance for legal fees which normally cost a lot.
● Ensure that your nurse is going for extra continuing education training
Many countries have a come up with a minimum number of training hours in which nurses are expected to attend annually. The requirement is mainly meant to ensure that every nurse is updated with current methods and procedures being used in the career. However, for better performance, company nurses are encouraged to go beyond the basic requirements. This will assist them to improve their skills and protect them against any liability of a malpractice lawsuit. A nurse who went for further study is usually in a position to defend his expertise better especially in malpractice complaints.
● Ensure that your company nurse documents everything thoroughly
Our brain can only remember and process 10 terabytes to over 100 terabytes of memory. Thus, mixing multiple patients, long shift work, and emergency situations make it possible for a nurse to forget some details. Thus, the best method in which nurses should store information is using the procedural and file method. This also helps doctors to come up with a good treatment plan. It also provides legal documentation pertaining to methods, tests, observations and results just in case of a malpractice liability lawsuit.
● Ensure that your nurse is careful and accurate when carrying out his duties
Medications for the patients change every day. Therefore, many factors can change the accuracy of the prescription medication. Thus, nurses are always encouraged to double check the charts in case of any changes and clarify in case medication does not align with the treatment. Nurses have to be careful when dispensing medication. Should errors pop up, the best way in which nurses can easily protect themselves is adhering to care procedures and consistent vigilance. This will greatly help them avoid malpractice lawsuits and legal liability.
When hiring a company nurse, you should take note of the tips above to avoid troubles along the way. When it comes to medical care, everything has to be done with caution, and the tips above give you a good layer of protection to keep malpractice lawsuits at bay.
