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 LVN from Fort Hood, Texas is just one of the many examples of nurses who were charged with negligence and failed to hire an effective nurse attorney.
At the time of the incident, she was employed as an LVN at a hospice care provider in Fort Hood, Texas, and had been in that position for ten (10) months.
On or about March 5, 2020, while employed as an LVN at a hospice care provider in Fort Hood, Texas, LVN failed to properly assess a patient for signs of life after being notified that the patient may have been deceased; instead, LVN used the time of last breath taken as reported to her by an LVN, that she was not present for, and reported that to the Medical Director as the time of death. Subsequently, LVN falsely documented that she conducted a death assessment in the patient’s medical record. LVN’s conduct created an inaccurate medical record and was likely to injure the patient from clinical care decisions based upon incomplete assessment information.
In response, LVN states that upon arrival at the home of the patient in question, she felt rushed as the office informed her that she was to not take long for the visit. LVN explains that an LVN from her agency was already in the home who gave her vital signs and all assessment information. LVN states the patient was in a supine position with hands folded across the abdomen, no respirations present, absence of rise and fall of chest, and color absent. LVN states that the patient’s daughter blocked her from approaching and told her that all that needs to be done is completion of arrangements as the LVN assisted with the assessment and postmortem care. LVN admits that she did accept the LVN’s assessment since she had never worked with an LVN before and had no access to the bedside by the family. LVN states the LVN told her that the patient expired at 15:33 and appropriate contacts were made. LVN states that she did not fully focus on the assessment charting and she rushed as she was interrupted by office personnel numerous times. LVN states that at the end of the day, she accidentally synced the tablet sending all information to the main drive and forgot to go back and correct her charting.
The above actions constitute grounds for disciplinary action in accordance with Section 301.452(b)(10)&(13), Texas Occupations Code, and is a violation of 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.11(1)(A),(1)(B),(1)(D)&(3)(A) and 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.12 (1)(A),(1)(B),(1)(C),(4),(6)(A),(6)(H)&(11)(B).
Unfortunately, the Texas Board of Nursing found her guilty of her deeds. Her LVN license was subjected to disciplinary action. She did not hire a skilled Texas BON attorney to fully defend her case which led to this decision by the Texas Board of Nursing.
Make sure that you will not make the same mistake as the LVN mentioned above in her case before the Texas Board of Nursing (BON). Contact a Texas nurse attorney today who can provide you with a confidential consultation and evaluate your case and counsel you on the best steps to take. Texas Nurse Attorney Yong J. An is an experienced nurse attorney for various licensing cases for 16 years and represented over 300 nurses before the Texas BON. Contact Mr. An by calling or texting him 24/7 directly at (832) 428-5679.