Personal Injury Law

Many Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Start With Hospital Communication Errors

By Steven M. Levin and John J. Perconti

The Wall Street Journal recently discussed a common workplace problem that has particularly deadly effects when conducted by health-care workers.

A new study has found that poor and disrespectful communication between colleagues in a hospital leads to increased chances of medical errors. The research found the greater chance of medical malpractice occurs even when preventative measures are taken to reign in the problem. The findings were made by the authors of a two-part research study of operating room and critical-care nurses. Nearly 2,400 nurses participated in the effort.

Positively, over 85% of those involved indicated that they used some form of preventative measure to reduce medical errors, like checklists and hand-off orders. However, shockingly, 84% of nurses had worked with doctors who were taking dangerous shortcuts ?risks that increased the patient chance of developing complications. Over a quarter admit that those shortcuts had led to medical mistakes and patient harm. Nearly 20% also admitted that patients in their care were injured by the simple incompetence of the medical professionals charged with their care.

The problem is amplified because the nurses often found it inappropriate to stand up to the poor conduct. Over half of the responded indicated that they were placed in situations where they felt it was unsafe to speak up about an issue or were unable to get other medical staff members to listen to the concern.

The goal, says the experts, is for a medical environment to be created ?in which anyone can speak up to anyone about their concerns, and everyone holds everyone else accountable for safe practices.?

Full post as published by Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog on March 24, 2011 (boomark / email).