Medical Malpractice in Nursing and Veteran Homes & Hospitals

Colburn Law

Posted in Medical Malpractice on April 4, 2022

Healthcare providers have a duty to provide a certain standard of care to patients who seek their help. Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional breaches this duty and harms a patient. 

Medical negligence can occur in any type of facility, including nursing homes and veteran homes, and hospitals. If you or a loved one are injured due to a healthcare provider’s malpractice, you may be eligible for financial recovery.

Examples of Medical Malpractice

Healthcare professionals have a responsibility to care for their patients. When providing treatment, their actions must not deviate from what a similarly trained and reasonable medical provider would do under the same circumstances. Any deviation that leads to patient harm is an act of malpractice.

The following are some common examples of medical malpractice.

• Misreading or ignoring laboratory test results
• Administering too much or too little anesthesia
• Prescription errors, such as prescribing too much medication or the wrong dosage
• Surgical errors, such as performing the wrong surgery or leaving a foreign object inside of the patient’s body
• Failing to diagnose a patient’s condition or misdiagnosing a patient’s symptoms as another injury or illness

Medical Malpractice at Nursing and Veteran Homes and Hospitals

Medical malpractice can occur anywhere, including facilities that care for the elderly and veterans of the armed forces. Many nursing and veteran homes and hospitals are poorly staffed or fail to follow critical protocols or regulations. As a result, severe harm can occur to residents and patients. 

The following are common examples of errors that may constitute medical malpractice in nursing or veteran homes and hospitals.

• Providing medication too late
• Administering the wrong medication to a resident
• Failure to respond to a resident’s medical needs
• Failing to send a resident to the hospital when necessary
• Poorly trained or untrained staff members
• Failure to regularly take vital signs of residents
• Failure to comply with federal or state regulations
• Lack of proper medical equipment for staff members to use
• Failure to hire enough staff members to care for residents

What to Do If You Experience Medical Malpractice at a Nursing Home or Veteran Facility

If you or a loved one experienced medical malpractice while receiving care at a nursing home or veteran facility, you can feel overwhelmed. You may wonder how to cope with the physical or emotional impact of the injury or how to pay for your required medical care. In these situations, you may have options for compensation.

By filing a medical malpractice lawsuit against the provider responsible for your injuries, you could recover compensation to pay for medical care, pain and suffering, and more. Take the following steps after the incident to seek help and support the future case.

First, get yourself or your loved one out of harm’s way as soon as you can. Seek medical care from another provider and save all records related to the treatment and injuries.

Next, gather as much evidence about the medical malpractice as you can find. Take photographs of any injuries, write down details about the medical providers, and write out the sequence of events. If any witnesses know about the malpractice, ask for their information.

Then, speak to a lawyer who can represent your lawsuit. Your attorney can evaluate your or your loved one’s case and help strategize your next steps. Contact a Washington medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible to discuss your legal options.