Hospital Staff Must Act Within the Standard of Care

Hospital Staff Must Act Within the Standard of Care

Often, when people think of medical malpractice claims, they envision suing a doctor for an error that harmed them. However, medical negligence claims may also encompass claims against hospitals, hospital staff and nurses. In fact, a recent study showed the medical malpractice claims against nurse practitioners aren’t that much different than those made against doctors.

With nurse practitioners making up a large percentage of health care workers, especially in fields such as family practice, pediatrics and obstetrics, it’s important to understand that all medical staff are held to a certain standard of care. When they fail to meet that standard, and harm occurs – such as an infant sustains a birth injury – each professional may be held accountable depending on his or her actions. Actions against NPs or other staff often hinge on whether they adhered to the standard scope of practice, or if they deviated from the standard protocol, or lacked physician oversight. Nurses and other staff should be properly trained when to call for assistance, and the failure to get help in emergency situations, such as when a fetus is in distress, may constitute negligence.

For more information or if you believe that you or a loved one was suffered harm as a result of medical negligence, please contact the compassionate and experienced California birth injury attorneys at Bostwick Peterson, LLP for an immediate consultation.
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