Complaints about patient abuse may put your license at risk. Issues such as this may greatly affect your future career, but only if you failed to hire a nurse attorney for the case. There are some RNs and LVNs who missed their chances to get their license saved from revocation just because they couldn’t hire any nurse attorney to defend them. This LVN from Edinburg, Texas happens to be one of them.
At the time of the incident, he was employed as an LVN at a hospital in Edinburg, Texas, and had been in that position for two (2) years and two (2) months.
On or about August 19, 2020, while employed as an LVN at a hospital in Edinburg, Texas, the patient attacked LVN and LVN responded by wrapping the patient’s arm around the patient’s neck and then pulled on the patient’s arm. Furthermore, LVN placed his forearm against the patient’s neck and then pressed the patient’s head against the floor. LVN’s conduct was likely to cause emotional, physical, and/or psychological harm to the patient and could have interfered or disrupted this patient’s treatment.
In response, LVN states the patient had been verbally inappropriate to staff and began hitting the wall and door in his bathroom. LVN relates he attempted to soothe the patient with calming words/gestures and then the patient attempted to strike him twice. LVN explains that during the patient’s second attempt to strike him, he assisted the patient to the floor using open grips. Once on the floor, LVN states he attempted to soothe the patient again, but the patient spit in LVN’s face and attempted to bite and scratch him. LVN states he used “ ..the least restrictive means of containing his flurry of blows and tried to simply secure his arms in place to the floor with the same open grip.” LVN relates that several minutes passed and he began to pant and became fatigued. LVN states the patient complained of pain, so LVN adjusted his grip and then the patient began banging his head on the floor. LVN explains he then moved his other arm, to the side of the patient’s face, and secured the patient’s face to the floor in order to stop any trauma. LVN relates it was around that time when staff arrived and started talking over themselves while the patient was yelling.
The above action constitutes 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) and 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.12(1)(A),(1)(B), (4),(6)(C)&(6)(F).
The evidence against the LVN was strong. At the same time, he was not able to properly defend his case in court. As a result, his nursing license was placed under disciplinary action.
Avoid the similar thing from happening on your end. Make sure to find the right defense attorney in case a complaint will be filed against you before the Texas Board of Nursing (BON). For more details or for a confidential consultation regarding accusations, it’s best to contact an experienced Texas nurse attorney. Texas Nurse Attorney Yong J. An is an experienced nurse attorney who represented more than 300 nurse cases for RNs and LVNs for the past 16 years. You can call him at (832)-428-5679 to get started or to inquire for more information regarding nursing license case defenses.