Whenever someone filed a complaint against you involving negligence, your license could be put in danger if not defended by a nurse attorney. An RN from Dallas, Texas is just one of the many examples of nurses who found be negligent while on duty.
On or about December 28, 2008, while employed as a Registered Nurse in a hospital in Dallas, the RN falsely documented in the medical record of newborn patient, that she collected a urine sample for this patient and sent it to the lab, however, it was later determined that no such sample had been collected and sent to the lab.
Furthermore, she admits that she failed to document that a specimen was collected earlier but had to be disposed of due to contamination. Her conduct was likely to deceive other caregivers who needed complete information on which to base their care. Furthermore, her conduct unnecessarily exposed the patient to the risks of harm from complications due to undiagnosed and consequently untreated disease processes.
Because of this, the RN was summoned by the Texas Board of Nursing to defend her side. In response to the incident, the RN states: “I worked…7 AM to 3 PM shift. When I began, I had an order for discharge for both the Mother and the Baby. I discharged both of them per protocol…the Father wanted to leave immediately…however, a female employee from the newborn nursery came and said she wanted to repeat a hearing screen on this baby, as the baby had failed the initial screen. . . so they were instructed to collect a urine sample for a CMV test. As I was giving a report to the evening Charge Nurse, the Father came and told me that the baby passed urine…I saw that there was urine in the bag…I noted there was stool mixed with the urine. Therefore, I dumped the urine…I then went to complete giving Report to the on-coming shift…I explained that the only thing that was needed was the urine specimen, then the Mother and Baby could leave…I made mistakes in the documentation: At approximately 9 am, I had documented that the urine was collected and sent to the lab in the baby’s flow sheet so that the HUC could send the discharge papers to newborn nursery and the Mother and Baby would then be able to leave with the in-a-hurry Father. In fact, the urine specimen was not collected until approximately 4 pm. Also, I failed to document that I had to dump the first urine sample due to the presence of stool.”
However, she failed to hire a nurse attorney to help her with her case. Because of this, the Texas Board of Nursing suspended and disciplined the RN.
Do not fret if you find yourself in a similar situation the same as that of the RN 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