Lawyers Fighting Inadequate Staffing In Michigan Hospitals
Last updated on April 14, 2025
Michigan’s health care system is facing a staffing crisis. A 2023 survey revealed 8,438 nursing vacancies statewide, equivalent to shuttering Michigan’s six largest hospitals. This severe shortage puts patients at significant risk.
Our attorneys fight for victims of understaffed medical care, securing justice for families devastated by preventable errors and neglect. Your story matters. Call us today at 1-888-GOODWIN for a free case review and discover how we can help make things right.
How Inadequate Staffing Hurts Patients
Health care facilities operating without enough personnel create dangerous conditions. Nurses managing excessive patient loads cannot provide adequate monitoring and care, leading to preventable complications including:
- Medication errors: Wrong doses, missed medications or incorrect administration
- Patient falls: Inadequate assistance with mobility and basic needs
- Documentation failures: Missing information, incorrect records and treatment mistakes
- Laboratory errors: Sample mix-ups, delayed processing or incorrect results
- Equipment contamination: Improper sterilization leading to dangerous infections
- Hospital-acquired infections: MRSA and other pathogens spreading between patients
- Missed warning signs: Early symptoms of sepsis and other critical conditions overlooked
- Pressure ulcers: Inadequate repositioning causing painful bedsores
- Delayed responses: Slow reaction to patient calls and emergencies
The research confirms these with sobering clarity. A study in The Lancet found that each additional patient added to a nurse’s workload increases a patient’s risk of dying within 30 days by 7%. Even short periods of understaffing can be deadly for critically ill patients. Research from Penn in 2013 showed another troubling pattern: Hospitals with fewer staff members see more patients returning after discharge because they weren’t properly cared for the first time.
The Deadly Impact Of Understaffed Emergency Rooms
Inadequate ER staffing creates immediate and severe consequences. Patients experiencing chest pain, stroke symptoms or severe injuries endure dangerous wait times. Meanwhile, overworked nurses struggle to monitor multiple critical patients simultaneously. Labs take longer to process results that could identify life-threatening conditions. Without enough specialists available, general physicians must handle complex cases beyond their expertise. Similarly, insufficient pharmacists and technicians slow medication preparation, further delaying crucial treatments. This domino effect of understaffing compromises care during emergencies, when minutes matter most.
Common Questions About Hospital Staffing And Medical Malpractice
Many patients and families have questions about how staffing issues affect medical care and their legal rights. Below are answers to common questions we receive about hospital staffing shortages and related injuries.
How do I know if my medical malpractice injury was caused by a staffing shortage?
Connecting your injury to staffing shortages often requires careful investigation. Warning signs include long wait times before receiving care, nurses rushing between too many patients, missed medication doses or staff apologizing for being “short-handed.” Medical records may show delayed responses to call buttons, gaps in monitoring vital signs or documentation errors. Our attorneys work with medical experts to review your records and determine if understaffing contributed to your injury.
Is there a minimum staff required for a hospital in Michigan?
Michigan law does not mandate specific nurse-to-patient ratios. However, hospitals must follow federal Medicare requirements and accreditation standards that require “adequate” staffing to ensure patient safety. Intensive care units and specialized departments have professional guidelines for staffing levels. Hospitals must also follow their own internal staffing policies, which can be critical evidence in malpractice cases when those standards aren’t met.
What are common signs of a staffing shortage in a medical facility?
Observable signs include consistently delayed responses to call buttons, nurses caring for an unusually high number of patients, frequent use of temporary staff, postponed procedures, excessive wait times, rushed interactions with medical staff and visible staff exhaustion. Patients might notice basic care tasks being missed, such as medication delays, infrequent position changes or poor communication between shifts.
What evidence does a lawyer need to show that inadequate staffing led to an injury?
Successful cases typically require multiple forms of evidence:
- Medical records showing deviations from standard care
- Staffing schedules and time logs
- Internal hospital policies on required staffing levels
- Witness testimony from other patients or staff
- Expert testimony establishing proper staffing standards
- Documentation of previous staffing complaints
- Evidence showing that the facility knew about staffing problems but failed to address them
Our firm has experience obtaining this often well-protected information through proper legal channels.
It Is Time To Call Attorney Goodwin
Determining appropriate staffing levels is a complicated matter, but it’s never acceptable for them to fall to the level that patient safety is jeopardized. If you or a loved one has been harmed by an error that occurred because of inadequate medical staffing, don’t hesitate to contact a medical malpractice attorney. At Scott Goodwin Law P.C., we aren’t afraid to stand up to big hospitals and insurance companies. Contact us online or at 1-888-GOODWIN for help with your case.