Utah Med Law

The profession of nursing, more than ever, is under pressure to provide excellent care with dwindling resources while health care corporations and executives reap more and more profit. However, this does not forgive the negligence of the nurse in caring for you or a loved one. In fact, insurance companies that carry the employing hospital's liability pay for most nursing negligence cases. Through a mechanism of the law known as respondeat superior the employer is responsible for the employee's negligence as long as the negligence is committed within the scope of employment.  This means that even though the nurse is negligent the hospital insurer's pays the settlement or verdict.

Nursing negligence covers many areas to medication administration errors, to failure to report changes in patient condition and improper performance of various procedures. The consequences of nursing negligence should not be marginalized or minimized because it is nurses that care for the patient and are often the last line of defense in stopping errors. Furthermore, nurses are expected, through training and expectation, to be an advocate for their patients and in abandoning their role they may be making silent the concerns of their individual patients.

If you have any questions or would like more information about nursing negligence, contact us online or call us at 800.953.4811.