The survivors of a patient who unexpectedly died in a hospital contact an attorney regarding a wrongful death against the hospital and two nurses. Review of the hospital's pertinent policy and procedures found them to be current. Review of the medical record revealed that policy and procedures were followed by the nurses. Based on this information, what is the likely strength of this case?
A) The survivors have a good case since hospital policy and procedures do not supersede national standards.
B) The survivors have a good case since the death was unexpected.
C) Since the patient is dead and cannot report variation from the standards no case is possible.
D) The case against the nurses is weak since they followed hospital policy and procedures.
E) The case against the hospital is weak since policies and procedures are current.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Rationale 1: There is no evidence that the hospital's standards did not meet national standards. The scenario indicates the policies are "current."
Rationale 2: Unexpected deaths occasionally occur in hospitals through no fault of anyone.
Rationale 3: There is no indication that the patient being dead and unable to report variation from standards will have any impact on the guilt or innocence of the nurses or hospital.
Rationale 4: Since the nurses did follow the hospital policies and procedures some other violation would have to be found.
Rationale 5: The hospital is responsible for ensuring that policies and procedures are current. Since this is the case, the case would have to be based on some other occurrence.

The Survivors of a Patient Who Unexpectedly Died in a Hospital