Nursing Negligence Leads to Fatal Medical Error, Nurse Suicide
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.
Continue reading "Nursing Negligence Leads to Fatal Medical Error, Nurse Suicide" »
