While doctors, surgeons, and other high-level medical professionals certainly play important roles in the healthcare system, nurses provide most of the regular inpatient care at hospitals and private practices. Similar to other healthcare providers, nurses are highly trained and experienced professionals who are expected to provide high-quality and compassionate care to every patient they see.
However, as any experienced malpractice attorney knows, mistakes made by nurses can have serious and even life-threatening repercussions, especially if this negligence prevents you from receiving the care you need. If you have suffered preventable harm from a nurse’s professional misconduct, an experienced Hartford nursing malpractice lawyer from Berkowitz and Hanna LLC can help you pursue the justice you deserve.
Under negligence theory, someone can be held civilly liable for harming someone else by violating a “duty of care” that is universally recognized as being within someone’s role to provide. However, lawsuits over nursing malpractice work a little differently because nurses are accountable to a “standard of care” based on what another equally qualified nurse would have done under the same working conditions.
As a Hartford nursing malpractice attorney can further explain, this means nurses are not always civilly liable for injuries caused by minor mistakes on the job. Furthermore, Connecticut requires prospective malpractice plaintiffs to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” into their claim and get support from a medical expert who also believes they have grounds to file suit. This can be difficult to do without legal help, which is why it is always ideal to work with a seasoned lawyer on cases like these.
Individual nurses who negligently cause harm to patients are not always the only people considered civilly liable for that harm. In many Hartford nursing malpractice lawsuits, it is also possible to name a negligent nurse’s employer as a co-defendant. In turn, this can significantly increase the total amount of compensation available to the injured plaintiff.
Legal precedent allows employers to be held vicariously liable for employee misconduct on the job. Healthcare facilities can be held directly liable for negligent hiring practices, which can lead to unqualified nurses providing patient care. An experienced lawyer’s support can be crucial to identifying, building a strong case against, and recovering fairly from every person who played a role in causing a specific injury.
Nurses are essential to the everyday functioning of the United States healthcare system, but nurses’ negligence can significantly impact patients. Fortunately, nurses are held to the same standard of care as doctors, which allows you to take legal action against any nurse who causes harm through malpractice.
A Hartford nursing malpractice lawyer from Berkowitz and Hanna LLC can be the steadfast ally you need to get the compensation you need and deserve. Call today to schedule a consultation and discuss what options are available to you.
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