In nursing, it is important that a nurse knows how to defend and fight any accusations or allegations against him/her and should know how to respond to such situations. The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) is responsible for all hearings against RNs and LVNs undergoing a case that may revoke, may suspend, or only discipline their license. And in facing the Texas Board of Nursing you should take note that a nurse attorney can help a nurse’s license in such a situation, which may include minor errors at work.
At the time of the initial incident, an LVN was employed as a Licensed Vocational Nurse at a hospital in Kyle, Texas, and had been in that position for four (4) months.
On or about August 1, 2021, and August 2, 2021, while employed as a Licensed Vocational Nurse, the LVN failed to document a patient fall in the medical record of the patient. It was later discovered by a Certified Nurse’s Assistant, that the patient had sustained injuries and needed medical care.
Furthermore, the LVN failed to report the fall to the oncoming nurse. The LVN’s conduct resulted in an inaccurate medical record and was likely to injure the patient in that subsequent caregivers would not have complete information on which to base their care decisions.
In response, the LVNadmits failed to complete documentation for the fall. She states she was short staffed and it was only her and a CNA for twenty-five (25) or more patients and several of them needed constant redirection and attention. The LVN states while she was attending to another patient’s needs and doing the nightly medication pass, the CNA informed her another patient had fallen. LVN states that she asked the CNA if the patient had any complaints. The CNA informed her the patient had no complaints and that she slipped. The LVN states when she completed the current patient’s medication pass, she went to assess the patient who had fallen. She states the patient was lying in bed with no complaints. She states the patient’s vital signs were within normal range and stayed in her room for the remainder of the night with no complaints. The LVN states she called the patient’s daughter and informed her of the fall. She states she got busy and forgot to finish the fall documentation. The LVN states she remembered the next day and that is when she completed the documentation and followed up with the daughter.
The LVN was given the chance of a legal counsel, in fact, all RNs and LVNs who are facing such cases are given the chance of a legal counsel, a nurse attorney at that, as your form of defense against any cases but the LVN failed to contact and hire a nurse attorney for help about the case.
Never do the same mistake and avoid such misfortune from happening to your license. If you are looking for a nurse attorney that has a proven track record in this practice area, contact the Law Firm of Nurse Attorney Yong J. An 24/7 by calling or texting him at (832) 428-5679 for a confidential consultation. Mr. An has over 10 years of experience handling Texas Board of Nursing disciplinary action cases and has helped several dozens of nurses in Texas protect their licenses.