Determining Negligence

Failure to Monitor Patient Cases in the New York Metro Area

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Monitoring a patient while they are in medical care is a crucial part of their recovery for two reasons. First, it is always the responsibility of the medical staff to determine an accurate picture of how the patient’s condition is improving. They can learn if they are responding well to treatment or if another type of treatment should be considered. The other reason patient monitoring is so important is because it can prevent the patient from having an adverse reaction to the treatment or medication.

There may also be another underling condition which the patient is suffering from and it is important that this is discovered and treated as soon as possible. Depending on the case, the nurse or doctor is in charge of monitoring, or a medical device could be set up to monitor certain vital signs as well.

The Law Offices of Joseph Lichtenstein has successfully handled lawsuits on conditions that resulted from the failure of the medical staff to monitor the patient. Set an appointment with our medical malpractice attorney today for such cases in Brooklyn and the surrounding areas.

Types of Patient Monitoring

Depending on the specific case of each patient, the medical staff may be more closely monitoring certain things over others. There are, however, some types of patient monitoring which are more common than others. First is cardiac monitoring. A medical monitor will be placed next to the patient which displays the heartbeat of the patient. The blood pressure of the patient could also be closely watched.

A member of the medical staff could use an inflatable pressure cuff to manually check their blood pressure or they could insert a blood pressure device. There could also be various types of respiratory monitoring in order to check the levels of oxygen in the blood, carbon dioxide in the blood, or their respiratory rate.

Again, depending on the circumstances of the case, the patient may require neurological monitoring. This tracks the patient’s brain waves, which is important especially after neurosurgery. Levels of glucose in the blood and the patient’s temperature could also be watched by staff. Following childbirth, there will be unique things which the hospital will have to be on the lookout for.

As most patients in the hospital will be on a specific type of prescription drug, their reaction to the medication will also have to be closely monitored as there could be adverse side effects or allergic reactions. In any type of patient monitoring, whether it involves machines and medical devices or manual checks, the hospital staff is responsible for how the patient is doing and needs to be attentive to checking up on them.

The Results of Failing to Monitor a Patient

Focus on the hand of a patient in hospital ward

Lack of proper monitoring

A simple mistake like missing a blood pressure check or failing to read a monitor correctly may not seem like a serious error. However, cases of failing to monitor patients and the devastating consequences which follow show that proper monitoring of patients should be taken seriously.

link between the medical staff’s negligence and the patient’s injury

In one case, a settlement of $3 million was awarded following the death of a 37-year-old man. He had been admitted to the hospital in order to undergo surgery for a duodenal ulcer and was later discharged. However, after only a few days, he died from exsanguination (fatal blood loss). It was shown that the hospital staff did not properly monitor him following the surgery to the point that they were not able to detect the internal bleeding.e a medical malpractice case.

If you believe that you or a loved one suffered because of a lack of proper monitoring, you could have a medical malpractice case. However, there are certain elements which must be present in order to prove that negligence was a factor in the case. The doctor-patient relationship will have to have been established and a link between the medical staff’s negligence and the patient’s injury will have to be shown.

For more information, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our legal team at the Law Offices of Joseph M. Lichtenstein, PC today. A New York medical malpractice attorney could help protect you, call our firm today!


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