Common Causes for Nursing Errors

When a nurse makes a mistake, it can lead to serious injuries or even death. Nurses are responsible for many aspects of patient care including medication dispensing, monitoring vital signs, and communicating patient information to the doctors. Even though a nurse may have many duties, they are still liable for giving you the best care possible.

Sadly, most nursing errors are preventable. By understanding some of the common causes for nursing errors, we can see why these mistakes need not happen.

The most common causes for nursing errors include: 

• shortage of registered nurses;
• caring for too many patients;
• fatigue;
• inadequate training;
• working long hours;
• inadequate pay;
• nurse aides are unlicensed and/or unregulated;
• miscommunication/failure to communicate;
• failure to follow a doctor's instructions/can't read doctor's notes;
• charts and records are improperly kept;
• distractions; and
• interruptions. 

While these factors may be present in a nursing situation, they are no excuse for a patient to be further harmed by a nursing error. To learn more about how nursing errors can result in devastating consequences to a patient, visit our article library. 

If you have experienced an injury or illness because of a nurse's mistake, contact a Chicago medical malpractice attorney who can examine the facts surrounding your case and determine if you have a valid medical malpractice claim. You may be able to recover damages for any injuries you have sustained due to a nursing error.

Contacting a Chicago Medical Malpractice Attorney

At the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C, our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys will examine all aspects of your claim, determine liability, and aggressively pursue the full amount of compensation due to you or your loved one for any injuries or loss of life due to medical malpractice. Contact us today for a free case evaluation - 312-263-1080.