Need legal advice please.

[MICKEY88]

Originally posted by Minnie824
I apologize for starting a debate about the nursing profession. That was not my intent.
Regarding the empty bag...my father got out of surgery and was in his room around 7:30pm...my mother and I were there. He had been in recovery for awhile. Around 8:30pm, we noticed it was empty. We asked the nurse to change it. She said she'd be right back. There were multiple other nurses coming in to take care of other things, but they weren't the people to take care of the IV. My mother and I left at 10:30pm since he was still sortof out of it and the bag was NOT changed yet and the nurse had not been back. So yes, someone was there to verify that it was empty for 2 hrs. The reason I said it was from the IV rushing in too fast, was the next morning when we were there, the new nurse filled us in on what had happened and thats what we were told. This person the 1st night made a mistake and could have killed my father. Do I think she's an idiot? Yes, and I probably could have used worse words to describe her. Not in any way did I imply that every nurse was an idiot. Every other nurse he had in his whole hospital stay, was efficient, friendly, helpful, etc. Maybe this one nurse was overworked, and tired, etc. But I'm sorry if I can't say, well, she was overworked, so its ok she could have caused life long damage to my father. Maybe some of you can. I think some people are getting a little defensive regarding a post requesting help. I guess I should find other places to ask for advice from now on.

I don't think anyone here has a probleb with asking advice,,they're just upset because you are insisting the nurse was an idiot...are nurses human...yes...can they make mistakes...yes...do they make mistakes...probably..does this make them idiots....NO....is it possible that you are transfering anger in this situation..is it possible that you're not really upset with the nurse...is it possible that you're angry at yourself for leaving the hospital without making sure the bag was not changed.... havint spent a lot of time in the hospital with my Dad I saw how overworked the nurses were, we would give them a fair amount of time to take care of something and then if it wasn't done we'd go to the nurses station and very nicely remind them, pointing out that we realized they were busy and might have forgotten..it was interesting to see how many nurses made it a point to tell us how much they appreciated our patience and understanding...and they also told us how nice it was to feel appreciated...

 

[SandraM]

Minnie,
Just wanted to say I'm sorry that you're going through so much at the moment. I hope things start to look up very soon.
With best wishes,
Sandra

 

[DocRafiki]

Originally posted by Minnie824
Do I think she's an idiot? Yes, and I probably could have used worse words to describe her. Not in any way did I imply that every nurse was an idiot.

Yes, you most certainly are implying that every nurse is an idiot, because every nurse, doctor, or any other human being who works at one job for any appreciable amount of time, will make MISTAKES. Just because these people's mistakes lead to greater consequences does not make it any more likely that they will be perfect.

However, Disney Doll, you have no more right to talk about incompetent doctors than she does about nurses. There are plenty of lines of defense to catch mistakes, and nurses are one of the biggest ones. So pat yourself on the back; you're doing your job. As many cases as a nurse juggles, I'm sure the doctor juggles at least 3-4 times that. And I for one would LOVE to be bringing someone coffee for nurses' wages. It sounds like what goes around comes around where you work, with all the lack of respect everyone has for one another.

BTW, the RN is right. A fast infusion of fluids will cause high blood pressure, not the opposite, unless there was a medication in the fluids that he received an overdose of. If he was already having problems regulating his blood pressure and was relying on the fluids to maintain that, then perhaps the 2 hours without fluids could be suspect. It does sound like you have a case. Like someone already mentioned, that's what insurance is for. But don't be expecting anyone to lose their job or license over this. BTW, do you know that "idiot" nurse wasn't called away to help resuscitate someone who crashed? I'm guessing you don't.