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Nursing malpractice happens when a nurse does not fulfill duties in a way that a normally competent nurse in the same situation would -- and that negligence injures the patient. As in medical malpractice, however, not every mistake or mishap rises to the level of negligence.

If a nurse commits malpractice while caring for a patient, hospitals are often (but not always) on the hook. A hospital may be legally and financially responsible for a nurse's negligence if:

• the nurse was an employee of the hospital
• the nurse was fulfilling a job duty when the patient was injured, and
• a non-employee doctor did not maintain proper control over the nurse.

An attending doctor may also be responsible for the nurse's actions if:

• the doctor was present, and
• the doctor had control to prevent the nurse's negligence.

To learn more about what types of actions constitute nursing negligence, and when the hospital or attending doctor is responsible, call Piper & Piper: Trial Lawyers today.

Medical malpractice occurs when a patient is harmed because a doctor (or other medical professionals) failed to perform competently under accepted standards of medical care. In order to prove medical malpractice, it must be shown that the doctor was negligent in some way -- that is, not reasonably skillful and careful in treating the patient.

A doctor's negligence might be established by proof that the doctor:

• failed to diagnose (or misdiagnosed) an illness or condition
• did not follow the proper medical procedure in treating a patient, or
• forgot to warn a patient of known risks of a procedure or prescription drug.

There are other elements that must be established in a medical malpractice claim -- including the existence of a doctor-patient relationship and damages linked to a resulting injury.