Nurses are always at risk for accusations of medical malpractice or negligence. If someone filed a complaint against you, your license could be put in danger if not defended by a nurse attorney. An RN from Arlington, Texas is just one of the many examples of nurses who were charged with negligence and failed to hire an effective nurse attorney.
At the time of the incident, she was employed as an RN at a hospice care provider in Arlington, Texas, and had been in that position for nine (9) months.
On or about October 15, 2020, while employed as an RN at a hospice care provider in Arlington, Texas, RN failed to properly assess a patient for signs of life after being notified that the patient may have been deceased; instead, RN used the time of last breath taken as reported to her by an LVN, that she was not present for, and reported that to the Medical Director as the time of death. Subsequently, RN falsely documented that she conducted a death assessment in the patient’s medical record. RN’s conduct created an inaccurate medical record and was likely to injure the patient from clinical care decisions based upon incomplete assessment information.
In response, RN states that upon arrival at the home of the patient in question, she felt rushed as the office informed her that she was to not take long for the visit. RN explains that an LVN from her agency was already in the home who gave her vital signs and all assessment information. RN states the patient was in a supine position with hands folded across the abdomen, no respirations present, absence of rising and fall of the chest, and color are absent. RN states that the patient’s daughter blocked her from approaching and told her that all that needs to be done is the completion of arrangements as the LVN assisted with the assessment and postmortem care. RN admits that she did accept the LVN’s assessment since she had never worked with an LVN before and had no access to the bedside by the family. RN states the LVN told her that the patient expired at 1533 and appropriate contacts were made. RN states that she did not fully focus on the assessment charting and she rushed as she was interrupted by office personnel numerous times. RN states that at the end of the day, she accidentally synced the tablet sending all information to the main drive and forgot to go back and correct her charting.
The above actions constitute grounds for disciplinary action in accordance with Section 301.452(b)(10)&(13), Texas Occupations Code, and is a violation of 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.11(1)(A),(1)(B),(1)(D)&(3)(A) and 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.12(1)(A),(1)(B),(1)(C),(4),(6)(A),(6)(H)&(11)(B).
A case was ultimately filed against her before the Texas Board of Nursing (BON). The said allegation was fatal to the RN’s capability to perform the essential functions and duties. Sad to say, the nursing defense attorney who handled her case was not able to properly defend her interests and rights before the Board. The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) found her guilty of the offense alleged in the complaint and decided to subject her RN license under disciplinary action.
If you also received a letter from the Texas Board of Nursing regarding a case or complaint filed against you, you should hire a nurse attorney immediately before it’s too late. Texas Nurse Attorney Yong J. An is one of those dedicated nurse attorneys who helped represent more than 150 nurse cases for the past 16 years. You may contact him 24/7 at (832) 428-5679 for more information or if you want to schedule a private consultation.
Jul21R736105MO