Doctors are not the only individuals who commit professional malpractice. Nurses often fail to meet the due standard of patient care. Nurses are licensed healthcare providers who owe their patients an independent professional duty that is distinct from the professional standard of care to which doctors are held. Determining liability is a complex issue when a malpractice case involves the negligence of a healthcare provider other than a doctor, such as a nurse.
Generally, if a nurse is negligent and causes harm to a patient, both the nurse and the nurse’s employer are potential defendants in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Employers are liable for the negligence of their employees under the legal doctrine of “vicarious liability.”
When nurses are employed by a healthcare facility, such as a hospital, and fail to perform a duty of their job, the hospital may be held legally responsible. However, if the attending physician was present and controlling the nurse’s actions at the time that the negligence occurred, he or she may also be held liable.
It is common for doctors and hospitals to dispute which party shoulders the primary responsibility for patient supervision. The hospital may face liability even in the circumstance when a doctor supervises and wrongly directs a nurse, and the nurse knowingly follows these directions.
In many instances, such as private home care, nurses are directly responsible for caring for a patient. Home health care nurses often are not employed by the attending physician directing the nurse’s actions, but an independent home health care agency. Because a nurse is primarily in charge of the patient’s care in this situation, the nurse and the nursing agency would potentially be defendants in a medical malpractice case.
Powell Law’s attorneys have built a working relationship with hundreds of expert witnesses over the life of the firm. A viable medical malpractice case requires a team of experts, legal and medical, to succeed. Our team has the necessary expertise and experience to help victims of professional negligence recover damages. At Powell Law, it is our goal to protect and assert our clients’ rights effectively. Powell Law has an established 115-year-old reputation throughout northeastern Pennsylvania. Contact Powell Law at (570) 961-0777. The consultation is FREE, and you don’t pay unless we win!
