Adverse medical errors are a serious problem plaguing our nation's healthcare system, accounting for more than a million injuries and approximately 120,000 deaths each year. Many of these errors are preventable, and they are not limited to the wrongs of a physician. Nurses are increasingly involved in medical malpractice cases resulting from nursing negligence. Long after a medical mistake occurs, these medical professionals continue to suffer serious emotional consequences. Medical malpractice lawyers at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm have experience dealing with twin casualties, such as a recent nurse suicide following a deadly medical mistake.
The Seattle Times is reporting the suicide of a registered critical-care nurse at Seattle Children's Hospital that occurred after she fatally overdosed a critically ill infant. Kimberly Hiatt worked at the hospital for 24 years before she committed the medical mistake that ended her nursing career and eventually caused her to take her own life. She administered ten times the appropriate amount of calcium chloride to an 8-month-old infant, who died five days later.
A cardiologist who worked with the victim confirmed that the medical mistake exacerbated cardiac dysfunction. The hospital immediately escorted Hiatt from the hospital after learning of the medical error, and eventually fired her. Although she was allowed to keep her nursing license, Hiatt was forced to pay a fine and agree to four years of probation, requiring supervision at future nursing jobs. The negligent nurse was so distraught from the lethal medication error that she ultimately hung herself in her own home.
Studies show that nurses, physicians, and other medical professionals who commit fatal medical mistakes often experience severe emotional trauma. Low confidence, depression, and anxiety are common, along with suicidal thoughts. In the Archives of Surgery, researchers found that surgeons who commit medical errors are more than three times more likely to consider suicide than surgeons who do not commit such errors.
Our Illinois medical malpractice attorneys have worked with many victims of preventable medical mistakes, and we understand the emotional and legal consequences of a medical malpractice lawsuit on all parties involved. The role of nurses continues to expand in the healthcare field, and nurses face increasingly liability for medical negligence. Just like doctors and other healthcare professionals, nurses owe patients a duty of care. When nurses act inconsistently with the reasonable standard of care required by the law, they are liable for injuries that the victim suffers. Hospitals that employ negligent nurses may also be responsible if a system failure caused the fatal error.
In Hiatt's case, the hospital agreed to pay an undisclosed settlement to the victim's family members. Settlements as large as $1.9 million have been reported when criminal charges are brought against nurses and doctors who commit deadly medical mistakes. Victims and their families need to be compensated for their pain and suffering, along with increased medical expenses. Given the latest nursing negligence suicide, hospitals also need to take into account the trauma that staffers who commit these errors suffer, especially if the error was not reckless or intentional. Effective procedures for handling fatal medical mistakes need to be established in order to avoid future twin tragedies.
