Nurses are often the first provider seen by patients, particularly in the hospital setting. Unfortunately, nurses make mistakes that cause serious harm or death. These mistakes can include failing to properly monitor a patient post-operatively, failing to give necessary medication, failing to prevent a patient from falling, and failing to properly communicate important clinical findings to doctors and other nurses.
When a patient undergoes a surgical procedure, an unexpected outcome can be a nerve or skin injury caused by improper positioning. The surgical team is responsible for ensuring that the patient is positioned in such a way that there is not excessive pressure on any particular part of the body and a nerve is not stretched to the point of injury.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have quietly stopped reporting some serious medical conditions to the public.
Recently, the Department of Health and Human Services issues a report indicating that 29% of patients in rehab hospitals suffered some kind of harm resulting from their care.