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Short staffing in medical facilities

In the United States, there has been a growing problem of healthcare shortages in medical facilities. In 2025, there is expected to be a shortage of over 400,000 home health aides and over 29,000 nurse practitioners. By 2032, the American Association of Medical Colleges predicts a shortage of 122,000 physicians

Short staffing in places like hospitals and nursing homes are a serious problem because they can lead to patient injury, often categorized as either medical malpractice or nursing home negligence. If you or someone you love has been injured due to this, book a free consultation with our law firm to get the ball rolling on seeking the benefits you deserve.


What is a short staffing?

Short staffing is a chronic problem, especially in the healthcare industry. If you’ve ever been to an ER with incredibly long wait times, this may point to short staffing. It occurs when employees call in sick, there aren’t enough people hired in the first place, or a myriad of other reasons. 

When there are fewer hands on deck than usual, or worse— being understaffed is the usual— patient care can be compromised. Short staffing can affect the following professions in a medical facility:

  • Nurses
  • Doctors
  • Dietitians
  • Nutritionists
  • Technicians
  • Supervisors
  • Physical therapists
  • Physician’s assistants
  • Occupational therapists
  • Interns, residents, and medical students
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When these appointed people of a patient’s care team are not present, it raises ethical and legal questions. Every part of a person’s care team plays an important role in keeping the patient safe, healthy, and cared for. 

Patients’ overall well-being is in the hands of these specialists, and the unit is strongest when everyone is there. Failure to care for a patient’s needs can lead to a medical malpractice claim or nursing home negligence lawsuit. 

Why? Often, the injuries patients suffer at the hands of their medical team lead to expenses they wouldn’t have had otherwise. For this reason, experienced lawyers help patients receive compensation for the damages they’ve suffered.

Short staffing can happen in any of the following medical facilities:

  • Hospitals
  • Urgent cares
  • Nursing homes
  • Doctors’ offices
  • Hospice homes
  • Specialty centers

How to Recognize a Short Staffing

Short staffing can often look like:

  • Errors 
  • Delays
  • Rushed service
  • Employee burnout
  • Poor quality of work
  • High turnover in staff
  • Patient complaints about staff
  • Visible employee stress or fatigue
  • Employees mentioning being short-staffed

For example, if a nurse comes into a hospital room and apologizes for the delay, explains that multiple people called off, forgets to get the patient their medication, and quickly moves onto the next room, those are signs of short staffing.

If that patient has a seizure due to medication withdrawal, he may have grounds for a lawsuit. Our attorneys represent victims of medical malpractice and negligence because we understand how short staffing can lead to patient injury

Injuries caused by short staffing could include:

  • Falls 
  • Death
  • Infection
  • Malnutrition
  • Dehydration
  • Poor hygiene
  • Medication errors
  • Delayed treatment
  • Psychological distress
  • Bedsores or pressure ulcers
  • Complications from untreated medical issues

Other patient outcomes strongly impacted by inadequate staffing include the length of stay, patient dissatisfaction, poor quality of care, and readmission.


Common causes of short staffing in healthcare settings

Why is this happening? Strict hiring qualifications, a large population of aging adults in the Baby Boomer generation, and advanced medicine (which lengthens the average lifespan) are a few reasons. 

Another sad reality is that sometimes short staffing is a conscious choice made by someone in a position of authority whose interest lies in saving money. Covid-19 exacerbated the already-existing issue of short staffing. It seems as if we are all still recovering from the pandemic, especially healthcare workers and patients. 

In January of 2022 alone, 4.3 million people in the United States quit their jobs during the Great Resignation.


Steps to take if you suspect short staffing

It is incredibly important for you to report any signs of malpractice or negligence, even if you are unsure whether the short staffing caused it. The first step is to make sure the patient’s medical needs are met. Making sure they are safe and in good care is the top priority. 

Once that is secured and in place, it is a good idea to contact a lawyer and document any signs of malpractice or negligence. This could include photos, witness statements, and medical records. It could also include any signs of short staffing such as employee behavior, patient complaints, compromised care, or wait times. 

Documenting the injury, the person’s overall condition, and any signs of short staffing will help your case. 

If you believe that your suspicions are substantiated, you can report what you’ve discovered to the state. In Arkansas, there is an elder abuse hotline that you can reach by calling 1-800-332-4443. In Oklahoma, call 1-800-522-3511 to report. 
Finally, remove your loved one from the facility in which he or she has been abused or neglected.


Our Process for Short Staffing

We help clients:

  1. Understand their rights.
  2. Investigate the situation.
  3. Identify any presence of short staffing. 
  4. Gather evidence to prove short staffing.
  5. Get expert opinions to prove short staffing.
  6. Build a legal argument if there is one to be had.
  7. File a lawsuit and negotiate a settlement with the other side.
  8. Conduct depositions, request documents, and respond to discovery requests.

This process helps you hold medical staff accountable for their actions or non-actions that caused your or your loved one’s injury.


Compensation in short staffing cases

Patients deserve to be compensated for their injuries that were caused by short staffing. Clients may be compensated for:

  • Lost wages
  • Medical bills
  • Wrongful death
  • Pain and suffering
  • Reduced quality of life

If you or a loved one has experienced an injury due to short staffing, book a free consultation with The Law Offices of Craig L. Cook. We can help answer your questions and guide you on the journey toward compensation.

Think you’ve witnessed short staffing?

We understand it can be scary to witness short staffing, especially for the person affected by it. It is unfair to patients who trust their medical providers to be mistreated or overlooked by the very people who are supposed to protect them. When your care team is falling short, it may cause injuries. 

This is why our attorneys are here to help you receive the compensation you rightfully deserve. Do you or a loved one have expensive damages caused by short staffing? Contact us today to get started: 479-783-8000.

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