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 Lewisville, Texas is just one of the many examples of nurses who were charged with negligence and failed to hire an effective nurse attorney.
This is exactly what happened to an RN in Lewisville. Read on to find out her case.
On or about May 3, 2019, while employed in a medical facility in Lewisville, the RN allegedly incorrectly administered 80 milligrams of Lovenox to a patient. The ordered dose was 68 milligrams. Additionally, the RN incorrectly documented that she administered 68 milligrams of Lovenox when she had administered 80 milligrams of the Lovenox instead. Her conduct resulted in an inaccurate medical record and unnecessarily exposed the patient to the risk of harm from the administration of an anticoagulant at a higher dose than ordered.
On or about the same date, the RN failed to administer Cardizem at the correct rate to a patient. Specifically, the RN set the infusion pump to administer the Cardizem at one hundred and twenty-five milliliters per hour, though the order stated to titrate Cardizem starting at ten milligrams and then titrate five milligrams per hour to the goal. The maximum dose ordered was fifteen milligrams per hour.
Additionally, the RN failed to document the administration of the Cardizem in the patient’s Electronic Medical Record. Subsequently, the patient experienced hypotension and required admission to the Intensive Care Unit to monitor the Cardizem drip.
The RN’s conduct resulted in an incomplete medical record and was likely to injure the patient from a risk of harm from cardiac medication administered too quickly.
In response to the accusations, the RN states that the incident occurred on the first day of her taking an assignment. The RN states that everything at the facility was new to her, from the charting system to the medication administration system. The RN states that when she arrived at the emergency room for the assignment she met the nurse who would be her preceptor for the first two hours of her shift.
The RN states that the system was not like the one she had been trained on at HealthTrust, and she had to ask question after question. The RN states that she came to the patient’s room and the admitting physician was present and asked what medication and dose she was giving to the patient. The RN states that she informed the physician she was giving 80 milligrams of Lovenox, and the physician agreed with the dose. The RN states that she scanned the patient’s armband and administered the medication. She states that the computer would not allow her to finish the medication administration transaction, so she called her preceptor. She states that the preceptor stated that she was only supposed to give 68 milligrams. She states that she could not see where in the chart stated to only give the patient 68 milligrams.
In response to the other allegation, the RN states that she noticed the bag of Cardizem was sitting in the patient’s room, waiting to be administered. She states that she looked at the bag for the patient’s name and date of birth, then looked at what she thought was the dose rate. The RN states that the patient was moaning in pain, and his wife was asking her for pain medication. She states that she looked at the dose rate a second time, turned to get on the computer, but the computer in his room would not work.
The RN states that she turned back to look at the medication rate again, and then put the rate into the intravenous pump, trying to remember how she was instructed. She states she then hit the start button on the intravenous pump and the pump stopped beeping. She states that when the precepting nurse returned from her lunch break, she informed her that she started the Cardizem and requested that she check the pump and that she was unable to log onto the computer in the room. She states that the charge nurse informed her that she had made a mistake with the Cardizem drip.
However, without an effective nurse attorney to help her defend her side, the RN was suspended by the Texas Board of Nursing. If someone filed a case against you involving misconduct, malpractice, or negligence, it is wise to consult with a nurse attorney who knows everything about nurse cases. Contact nurse attorney Yong J. An at (832) 428-5679 if someone filed a complaint against you.