Can anything be done about a family nurse practitioner not following opioid prescribing guidelines which resulted in a patient’s death?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Can anything be done about a family nurse practitioner not following opioid prescribing guidelines which resulted in a patient’s death?

Hi, I was wondering if there’s
anything that can be done about a
nurse practitioner who was
prescribing someone oxycodone,
sleeping pills and depression
medication for the past 8 years.
They recently added three other
pain killers including morphine.
They told the patient to come back
two months later for a follow up,
after just having adding another
opioid. The patient passed away
three weeks after being prescribed
the morphine, The death was ruled
as an accident. The nurse didn’t
have the patient sign an informed
consent or drug contract and was
also a client of the patient. This
happened in Tucson Arizona.

Asked on July 1, 2017 under Malpractice Law, Arizona

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 6 years ago | Contributor

1) You can file a complaint with your state's medical or nursing licensing board, which will not result in compensation, but may result in some measure of justice, if her license is taken away or suspended.
2) A spouse or dependent may be able to file a wrongful death claim based on medical malpractice (on one or more of overprescribing; prescribing the wrong drug[s]; not monitoring drug interactions or following up sufficiently; and/or not informing the patient of the risks or getting informed consent). To explore such an option, the immediate family should consult with a medical malpractice attorney; many such lawyers provide a free initial consultation to evaluate a case, and you can confirm this before making an appointment.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption