MHA 622 - Legal Risks of Nurses: Case Study Analysis Report

This report presents a case study analyzing the legal risks associated with nursing practice, specifically focusing on a scenario where a patient, Mr. Ard, suffered due to alleged negligence. The report outlines the events leading to the patient's death, highlighting issues such as mismanagement, inadequate documentation, and failure to respond promptly to patient needs. It delves into the legal issues arising from negligence, emphasizing the importance of proper documentation and adherence to patient care standards. The analysis discusses methods of prevention, such as improved communication, adherence to protocols, and prompt responses to patient requests. The report concludes with a verdict holding the nurse liable for negligence, underscoring the critical responsibility of healthcare professionals to provide diligent and attentive care. The case emphasizes the legal ramifications of failing to meet the expected standards of care in the healthcare field.

Running head: LEEGAL RISKS OF NURSEES
LEGAL RISKS OF NURSES

1LEGAL RISKS OF NURSES
What happened
Mr. Ard was taken to the hospital for admittance because of nausea and feelings of
encountering pain. Assistance was demanded by his wife after she noticed his distress. Mrs. Ard
unsuccessfully used the bell in a repeated manner for some assistance. Assistance that Mrs. Ard
requested did not arrive until later and Mr. Ard was given medications for nausea and pain. The
administration of the medication to the patient was not monitored correctly by the nurse. When
Mrs. Ard noticed after some time that her husband was having problem to breath properly she
again started to notify to the hospital personnel and requested for assistance which again was not
responded with. Mrs. Ard and her barely breathing husband were not provided with assistance
until nearly one hour later. For the long wait in treatment for breathing complications it had
resulted in calling of a code. In consequence of the delay Mr. Ard passed away (Pozgar, 2012).
Reasons for things going wrong
A number of things could be listed that have not been carried out in a proper way from
starting to end of the patient’s visit to the hospital. There was mismanagement among the
company staffs, lack of proper documentation and assessment of the patient (Pozgar, 2012). The
staff merely disregarded the documentation by the physician in which the condition of the
patient. To provide best service to the patient it is imperative for every person who is touching
the patient to properly review every note on the file. If the staffs are knowledgeable it allows
them to generate effective planning to execute proper care for the patient. If the nurse
administering the medication of Mr. Ard had reviewed his file properly the level of care
necessary in his case and the amount of risk could have been easily identifiable.

2LEGAL RISKS OF NURSES
Pozgar (2012) is of the opinion that the ignorance of the call bell by the staffs was
another mishap during the time of patient’s visit to the hospital. Even if the call does not seem
severe the staffs should imperatively respond to all calls. The patient’s chance of survival would
possibly have increased by the quicker response of the staff. A staff is mandatorily needed to
provide full assessment of the condition of the patient in regard with respiratory concerns and
swallowing assessment. If these two requirements were fulfilled by the staff it could have
possibly prevented the patient’s death.
Relevant legal issues
A health care organization can expect to be encountering legal issues if there is a
negligence of patients present. The levels of care that are expected by the staffs in this field while
dealing with a patient’s life cannot be taken lightly. When a patient is mishandled in a health
care, legal issues will also arise as a consequence. Any documentation regarding the care
provided to the patient Mr. Ard was failed to be kept by the nurse Ms. Florscheim.
Documentation of patient details is a must in the health care profession. The nurse’s process to
provide effective care to the patients is speeded up if the documentation is accurately and legibly
made and is easy to access (American Nurses Association, 2016). In case of legal issues that are
brought against a health care organization documentation can be shown as a mandatory
justification to the defense of the organization. In the case of Mr. Ard as the staffs failed to
provide necessary documentation no proof of care could be provided by the organization as well.
The nurse can be seen to be failing to document and read notation mentioned in the patient’s
chart that was written by other professionals. It has to be put into notice of the nure Mr.
Florscheim that she cannot be making simple yet significant errors.

3LEGAL RISKS OF NURSES
Methods of prevention
The staffs could have easily prevented the issue that happened with Mr. Ard. The nursing
staffs are required to be more attentive towards the needs of the patient and towards following
necessary guidelines for providing the patient with effective quality of care. It is the duty of the
nurses to imperatively provide with each other any update on the charts of the patient for making
everyone knowledgeable of the patient’s condition for providing high quality of care to the
patient. The nurse further should have been generating an action plan for providing the patient
with best treatment that can be possible by monitoring the patient’s condition. Each time the
nurse heard the bell ringing she should have been promptly responding to the patient as the care
of a patient is the primary concern of a health care professional. The patient could have gotten a
chance to survive if the nurse Ms. Florschiem would responded to the notification earlier.
My verdict
If a patient has suffered unnecessarily because of a nurse who is capable of caring but
fails to care in a prudent way that a reasonable nurse would it can be termed as nursing
negligence (Griffith, 2016). Accordingly it can be said that the nurse Ms. Florscheim would be
held liable for the guilt of negligence in care of her patient Mr. Ard as the primary focus of her
concern was not her patient as it should have been. She failed to generate effective plan for
treatment by overlooking the protocol of consulting the detailed chart of the patient’s health
condition. She further failed to respond to the needs of the patient by not responding to the bell
in a prompt manner. To avoid the death of any patient a bell is provided to all the staffs for
prompt engagement in any procedure for saving the life of the patient. Although claims were
made by the nurse that she provided the patient with care yet she could not produce any

4LEGAL RISKS OF NURSES
documentation to backup her statement that could serve justification. The death of the patient
was due to breathing problem which was clearly being mentioned in the patient’s health chart.
There is no option other than to believe that the nurse’s actions were solely responsible for the
death of the patient.

5LEGAL RISKS OF NURSES
Reference
Association, A. (2016). Retrieved from
http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ThePracticeofProfession
alNursing/NursingStandards/ANAPrinciples
Griffith, R. (2016). Repurcussions of negligence in community nursing practice. British journal of
community nursing, 21(3), 155-158.
Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Learning
Pozgar, G. (2012). Legal aspects of health care administration (12th Ed.) Sudbury,