A licensed nurse in Texas whether an RN or an LVN can and may be subjected to a disciplinary proceeding before the Texas Board of Nursing. Whenever an LVN or RN finds herself/himself in such a situation, he/she will need to find the best nurse attorney in the country. This is important, as it will be your only chance to protect your license. Otherwise, the Board of Nursing may find you guilty of the administrative case or the accusation and the Board may order the suspension or revocation of your license.
At the time of the occurrence, an LVN was working as a Licensed Vocational Nurse at a hospital in Saginaw, Texas, and had been there for one month.
On December 9, 2018, the patient under the care of the LVN sustained a fall. When this incident happened, the LVN could not provide proper assessment and immediate care, she also failed to file an incident report as well as completing a 24-hour shift record.
The following day, the LVN informed the Director of Nursing and Assistant Director of Nursing that the patient had fallen during her shift the night before. The LVN returned to the facility, filled out an incident report, and recorded the fall on the 24-hour shift record.
The patient was then diagnosed with a fracture on the left hip. The LVN’s actions resulted in inaccurate medical records and were likely to harm the patient since the following caregivers would not have pivotal information on which to base their care decisions. Furthermore, the LVN’s actions put the patient at unnecessary risk of damage from poor treatment and prevented the patient’s physician from initiating prompt medical treatments to stabilize the patient, resulting in a delay in the patient’s care and recovery.
Additionally, after the patient’s fall on December 9, 2018, the LVN neglected to report the incident to the relieving nurse. Due to the LVN’s actions, the patient was put at unnecessary risk of damage because failing to file a report would have prevented the patient from receiving the necessary care, which would have caused the patient’s condition to worsen. More significantly, the patient’s care and recovery were delayed because the LVN failed to notify the attending physician about the incident on that same day, putting the patient at risk for ineffective care and depriving the patient’s doctor of the chance to act quickly to stabilize the patient.
In response to the incidents, the LVN states that she was called to the patient’s room and upon arriving, discovered him lying on his back on the floor. She also remarked that the patient’s mouth and the wall showed signs of vomiting.
She also mentioned that she had made sure to inspect the patient for bruises, swelling, and open areas, but she had not found any. When she asked the patient whether he was okay, he replied, “Yes.”
According to the LVN, she assisted the patient in getting into bed after completing a range of motion (ROM) evaluation.
The LVN claimed that after going back to the nurse’s station, she made a call, left a message, and initiated the incident report process with the doctor’s answering service. Shortly after, the LVN says, the incoming nurse came, and she made sure to relay what had transpired. The LVN assured that she completed the incident report and handed it to the nurse on duty.
After the investigation, the LVN was found to be guilty of violating the Nursing Practice Act and will be facing disciplinary action from the Texas Board of Nursing (BON). The discipline and the sanction were based and are caused pursuant to Section 301.452(b)(10) & (13) wherein the evidence received by the Board was sufficient to prove the LVN’s conduct and violation(s). It became more difficult when the LVN failed to hire a nurse attorney to defend her as well as her license from the allegations.
Protect your license from revocation as well as your career as a professional healthcare provider. If you are seeking a nurse attorney with a solid track record in this practice area, call or text Nurse Attorney Yong J. An at (832) 428-5679 for a discreet consultation. Mr. An has over ten years of expertise with Texas Board of Nursing disciplinary action matters and has assisted several Texas nurses in retaining their licenses.