As a medical professional, if there is a poor outcome involving a patient, you may be worried about accusations of medical malpractice. This, in turn, could lead to concerns that you may lose your nursing license or your medical license.
For instance, perhaps a patient passed away while they were under your care. Family members are appalled that this has happened, and they are very angry over the outcome. They say that you committed medical malpractice, they are going to sue you and the hospital, and they are going to make sure that you lose your license so that you can never work in the medical industry again. Does having a poor outcome mean that you have committed malpractice?
The role of negligence
No, not every poor outcome is evidence of malpractice or any wrongdoing on the part of a nurse or another medical professional. One element of a medical malpractice case is that the medical professional owes a duty of care to the patient, but that is not the only thing to consider.
Even if you had a duty of care, it still has to be shown that you were negligent in some way. You made a mistake or did not offer the expected level of care, leading to the patient’s passing.
After all, doctors and nurses cannot be expected to treat or save every single patient. Someone may simply have a terminal condition or a very serious injury. Even if you did everything that you could and were never negligent, they may still pass away.
This can be a very emotional time for family members, who may blame you, but that does not necessarily mean you are in jeopardy of losing your license.
Your legal options
That said, if you are facing these serious accusations, it is critical that you know what legal options you have. Even if you believe you have done nothing wrong, you must know what steps to take to protect your license and your future.
