Case Example

A nurse practitioner (NP) for a small private practice was included in a lawsuit against another provider in the practice, along with the collaborating physician, the hospital, and the hospital staff physicians. The NP in question had only seen the patient once upon her second appointment to the practice as an urgent visit when her primary provider was not working that day due to illness. The patient continued to have regular visits with her primary provider. Four months later, the NP received a phone call to the practice from the patient’s family reporting that the patient was behaving “bizarrely.” The patient was instructed to go to the ER and was admitted to the hospital. After several days in the hospital, the patient dies in the hospital. A wrongful death suit is then filed by the family with the NP and the parties listed above included in the claim. What was the end result of this lawsuit for the NP? The case resulted in summary judgment in the NP’s favor. How was this done? Contact me and I will explain the case and what value a good legal nurse consultant can provide to a malpractice case.