Wrongful Death Suit Alleges That Hospital Understaffing Contributed to Nurse’s Death

Beth Jasper worked as a nurse at Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati. On March 16, 2013, she was driving home after having worked a twelve-hour shift, when she likely fell asleep behind the wheel. Shortly thereafter, her car veered off the road, jumped an embankment, and collided with a tree, resulting in her death.
A wrongful death suit was filed against the hospital, which alleges that from 2011 until the time of her death, Beth’s unit was “regularly understaffed.” Such understaffing forced nurses, including Beth, to work without taking a break and to work additional shifts. The suit alleges that fatigue, caused by being overworked, contributed to Beth’s death. Furthermore, the suit alleges that hospital staffers and Beth’s supervisor were well aware of the toll that the understaffing problem was taking upon it’s nurses, yet the hospital failed to remedy the issue.

Bonnie Castillo, government relations director for the nation’s largest union of registered nurses, said that “chronic understaffing is rampant throughout hospitals around the country.” She further stated that “it is probably the single biggest issue facing nurses nowadays, and it’s not only affecting nurses, but patient health as well.” Perhaps this or similar lawsuits will serve as a wakeup call to hospitals, to provide safe staffing ratios for the benefit of their staff, their patients and the hospitals themselves.

If you need a wrongful death lawyer in Chicago, please call the law firm of Cary J. Wintroub & Associates, at 312-726-1021, to learn how we can help you!

For more information concerning this story see:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/12/health/ohio-nurse-worked-to-death-lawsuit-says/index.html?hpt=hp_t3