Kaiser Malpractice Injury: Nursing Negligence Causes Death
Oakland Nurse’s Error is Determined Cause of Death
The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported that a patient at Kaiser hospital in Oakland died due to a nurse’s error in administering intravenous medication. Although the Chronicle’s initial story about this malpractice incident did not describe the error, later news reports said that the nurse, a temp brought in during the nurses’ strike, gave a large dose of a drug that had not even been prescribed for the patient.
Civil Code Section 3333.2 Limits Recoveries in California Medical Malpractice Cases
Many medical malpractice cases, even ones involving deaths, are due to the conduct of non-doctors. The very broad law-Civil Code Section 3333.2—which limits recoveries in California medical malpractice cases, though, applies to the entire range of health care providers, including nurses. Nursing negligence cases often involve hospital falls, but medication administration errors are often caused by nurses.
Nursing Care Negligence Investigations
In cases of nursing care negligence, the California Department of Public Health will investigate, if it receives a complaint. Although the DPH frequently finds no regulatory violations, a finding of a violation by the DPH is a very powerful piece of evidence supporting a malpractice claim. The DPH has the ability to interview all the staff involved in the injury before formal discovery that is part of a lawsuit begins, and this can have the effect of gathering much helpful evidence for a legal case.
Kaiser Permanente Arbitration
In the death case reported recently, the nurse was working for Kaiser Permanente. Cases involving Kaiser members are often covered by Kaiser’s arbitration agreement, forcing members to arbitrate their cases privately, rather than take them to court. Having a Kaiser case heard in an arbitration, rather than in court, can be preferable in some cases, particularly those which are located in counties which are known to be hostile to medical malpractice plaintiffs.
Contact San Francisco Medical Malpractice Lawyers
If you or someone you know has been harmed due to medical malpractice in the S.F. Bay Area, the lawyers at Callaway & Wolf have many years of experience handling Kaiser malpractice injury cases, and are available to discuss your case. Request a free consultation with a medical malpractice lawyer by calling 415-541-0300.
Boone Callaway is a personal injury & medical malpractice lawyer in San Francisco who has been working with clients in the Bay Area for over 25 years. Mr. Callaway is one of only a few personal injury litigators in San Francisco who is a Super Lawyer, AV Rated and is also a member of ABOTA – American Board of Trial Advocates.
