New York Nursing Malpractice Information

Provided by a New York Medical Malpractice Attorney

The role a nurse plays in the medical care of his or her patients is a very special and important one.  Doctors often state that nurses are their eyes and ears when they are not with their patients. Nurses are trained to understand the signs and symptoms of various diseases and ailments, as well as the importance of changes in these signs and symptoms so they can timely report them to the physician.  Failing to fulfill the nurse’s duty can result in injury and death. 

Medical malpractice can be committed by a nurse who departs from good and accepted standards of nursing care that causes harm to the patient either in a hospital setting or outside the hospital in another location such as a nursing home, doctor’s office, or the patient’s home. Nursing malpractice is generally defined as negligence on behalf of a nursing professional that causes emotional or physical injury or death to a patient under his/her care. Any medical professional can be held accountable for medical malpractice. According to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, the amount of nursing malpractice cases involving medication errors, documentation errors, or failure to intervene or assess, has risen in the last five years.

Nursing malpractice could include that the nurse improperly uses an instrument, fails to carry out a physician’s orders, fails to properly monitor the patient, makes improper notes, fails to recognize significant signs and symptoms of the patient, fails to notify the physician of the condition of the patient or changes in the condition of the patient, or negligently performs other tasks that are part of the nurse’s duty.

If you believe that a nurse has committed nursing malpractice on you or a loved one, consult with New York medical malpractice lawyer Walter G. Alton, Jr. to have your rights protected.