Nursing assessment skills are one of the nurse’ most valuable assets. This is the main reason why whenever someone filed a complaint against you involving negligence, your license could be put in danger if not defended by a nurse attorney.
On or about July 14, 2017, an LVN from Lancaster failed to ensure a patient was timely transported to the hospital after she was made aware that the physician had ordered the patient to be sent to an emergency room. Her conduct was likely to injure the patient from delayed treatment.
The Texas Board of Nursing is the one that has full jurisdiction on cases involving RNs and LVNs. Therefore, the LVN was summoned by the Texas Board of Nursing to explain her side.
In response to the incident, the LVN states that she was not made aware that the patient was experiencing signs and symptoms of a stroke. She reports that she was paged to the patient’s room, and when she arrived the Assistant Director of Nursing (ADON) was assessing the patient for what she was told was a generalized weakness. She states that she told the ADON to have charge nurse the physician and see if they could give the patient intravenous fluids and collect labs instead of sending the patient to the hospital, for what she believed to be a generalized weakness.
The LVN further states that she then returned to the meeting she left when she was called to the nurse’s station. She states that at 1400 she was informed the physician denied the request and again ordered the patient to go to the emergency room. She states that ADON reported to her that the patient refused to go to the emergency room, so she instructed ADON to notify both the family and the physician. The LVN states the charge nurse notified the family and the family did want the patient to go to the hospital. She states that the protocol for emergent transport is to send the patient to the hospital and then notify the Director of Nursing.
The LVN failed to hire an effective nurse attorney to help her with her case. Because of this, the Texas Board of Nursing suspended and disciplined the LVN. The Board stated that she should not do things that could exceed the limitations of the nurse-patient relationship as well as false documentation of patient records.
Do not fret if you find yourself in a similar situation the same as that of the LVN mentioned above. All you need to do is to find the right nurse attorney who can help you in the case. Equip yourself with the knowledge and expertise you need for a successful outcome by consulting a knowledgeable and experienced Texas nurse attorney. Contact the Law Office of Yong J. An and text or call attorney Yong 24/7 at (832) 428-4579
