Should I sue a nurse that threatens my child just because she asked to talk to to the doctor?
my daughter is sick with an Upper Resp Infection and she was seen by the doctor and the doctor told her there was nothing wrong but she's holding her chest so she asked to talk to doctor and was told, well threatened that if we didnt leave she was going to call the police, my child is under 12 yrs old. Now my child is so stressed, she broke out in hives all over the place. Ive taken pic's and wrote names down too.
Answers:
Why would you sue?
Doctor saw her, told her nothing is wrong
If the nurse stressed her out that badly, maybe you should bring her to a shrink to help her issues.
Change Drs., you probably make your current one happy
You should probably complain to someone there. There's no reason for a nurse to take that tone with a child. Did you consult a lawyer already to see if it would work in court?
If your child is that sick, it seems to me like suing a rude nurse should be the last thing on your mind, but oh well. I doubt you would get anything in a lawsuit, since you really weren't damaged, other than being stressed and pissed off -- and, contrary to popular belief, you can't sue people just because they make you mad.
You should file a complaint with the doctor she works for (and the hospital or clinic she is employed by) as well as your insurance (I wonder if you got charged for that office visit) and the BBB and other ethical business associations.
To sue anyone for anything, you have to have a real, concrete loss. The nurse was mean, your daughter is upset, and that's understandable, but it is not grounds for a lawsuit. If they had refused to treat your daughter and she died, that would be different. In all honesty, the lawyer I work for would not even consult with you on this matter.
If you think something is still wrong with your child, that's what second opinions are for. Take her to a different doctor.
Wow! That was so wrong of that nurse! I have never heard of such a thing! I am upset just reading about it!!
Here is my input:
Start with the chain of command:
1-file a written complaint to your doctor, advise the M.D. they will have 5 working days to respond with a resolution (a formal apology, a copy of the reprimand to the nurse, etc.)
2-Contact your state's Licensing Board and advise them you want to file a complaint against her.
They will typically send you a packet; if the Doctor makes it right to you and your child you can not worry about the packet. But if the doctor doesn't, you already have the packet in hand.
3-If the doctor was involved (i.e., told her to make the threat, or knew she was making the threat and did nothing to intervene) with the nurse's threat to call the police, you may want to also contact your state's Licensing Board and advise them you want to file a complaint against the M.D.
4-You may contact an attorney, but only if they promise a free consultation.
Many times going after health care professional costs more than it is worth. For example, attorneys have told me if a person wants to sue a M.D., many attorneys would take the case for a 1/3 of whatever you receive in a lawsuit. The odds are the malpractice insurance will make an offer before it goes to court.
But for nurses’, juries typically are much more stingy in what they will award. Often, a judge won't even grant the motion for the lawsuit to continue, so an attorney may charge you $10,000 or $15,000 as a retainer just to take the case, since the chance of winning anything is much less likely.
I can't say this is 100% accurate, but from lawyers and nurses in my area, this is what I have been told.
For many professionals, having their license revoked or suspended is much more troubling than a lawsuit since they have malpractice insurance (their insurance will pay it, not them).
But losing their source of livelihood, this usually gets their attention.
Good luck!!
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