Who is responsible for nursing malpractice?

In the past, in cases of nursing malpractice, the nurses were not sued directly. Instead, the hospitals and doctors in charge of the individual’s care were sued.  This meant that nurses did not need to carry their own medical malpractice insurance because they were not considered to be legally responsible parties in the eyes of the law. They generally also did not need to carry malpractice insurance because they were considered to fall under the hospital’s medical malpractice insurance and were therefore covered through those means.  However, in recent years, there has been an increase in the number of malpractice lawsuits where the nurses are sued individually, leading many nursing colleges and hospitals to recommend that nurses carry their own malpractice insurance, or at least separate their insurance out specifically from the doctor’s insurance in case the nurse or nurses are sued by name.

If a nurse has done something negligent and harmed a patient in some way, this means that there is precedent to actually hold that nurse responsible. Like in any case of malpractice, holding him or her legally responsible would require the patient be able to prove that the nurse was negligent and breached a legal duty owed, and that the negligence directly led to injury. 

In a case where a nurse committed malpractice, it may also be possible for the patient to hold the hospital responsible as well, depending on whether the hospital's policies or practices could be considered negligent.

Because of the complexity of the situation and the number of potential plaintiff's, contacting a lawyer in these instances is essential.