Negligence at work have been a signature specialty of a nurse attorney when handling cases for some nurses. However, some nurses tend to forget this fact because they really felt like they should be responsible even if they never intended to commit such an error.
One such incident occurred on or about January 30, 2012, through February 3, 2012, to an LVN in Houston. During the initial time of the incident, she was employed as LVN in a medical facility in Houston and had been in the position for more than one year.
On or about the said date, the LVN failed to timely notify the RN supervisor that she had changed her work schedule to work nights without prior supervision.
In addition, the LVN did not timely report that she failed to follow physician’s orders regarding the use of the patient’s CPAP machine while sleeping because she and the patient’s family needed further education on the use of the machine. Her conduct placed the client at risk for injury because the patient required the CPAP machine to keep his airway open to facilitate his breathing throughout the night.
This issue was filed as a complaint and sent to the Texas Board of Nursing. The Texas Board of Nursing has full jurisdiction in all cases that may affect the status of an RN or LVN’s license in the future. But they advise nurses to attend a hearing first before placing the sentence, which the RN attended for her career’s security.
During the hearing, the LVN states there wasn’t a CPAP machine in the patient’s home, so she was unable to put him on it. She also states she was not trained on the use of the machine and thought the hospital was aware of the event. The LVN admits to changing shifts without notification and states she did report the machine was not there when it was never delivered.
As a result, the Texas Board of Nursing placed her LVN license to disciplinary action. It’s too bad that she failed to hire a nurse attorney for assistance, knowing that she had every reason to defend herself in the first place. Her defense would have gotten better if she actually sought legal consultation from a Texas nurse attorney as well.
So if you’re facing a complaint from the Board, it’s best to seek legal advice first. Texas Nurse Attorney Yong J. An is willing to assist every nurse in need of immediate help for nurse licensing cases. To contact him, please dial (832)-428-5679 for a confidential consultation or for more inquiries.