Delayed treatment or care is a cause of medical negligence and such delay can put a patient’s life at risk. This kind of issue can be filed into a lawsuit by the patient or by the family of the patient. Delayed treatment can be considered as malpractice depending on the grounds of the delay and if the delay had caused major injury or death to the patient. If an RN is involved in such a situation, he/she is entitled to have legal counsel whether the court will provide or if you will hire a nurse attorney for assistance or for defense.
At the time of the incident, the RN was employed as a staff float nurse at a hospital in Pasadena, Texas, and had been in that position for four (4) years.
It was on or about June 3, 2018, while employed as a staff float nurse the RN failed to timely report a patient’s potential change in neurological status to the charge nurse and/or the physician. The RN’s conduct could have contributed to the pain and suffering from delayed treatment for the symptoms of a stroke.
In response to the incident, the RN states that he consulted the physician immediately after reviewing the patient’s prior assessment findings. The RN had been unable to view the prior assessments due to a power outage. In the shift change report, the RN had been told by the off-going nurse that the patient had been admitted for a cardiovascular accident and had a right-sided weakness that was improving, but that the patient did not speak as he only spoke Spanish. Instead, the patient would simply nod or shake his head in response to questions. During the RN’s assessment, the patient continued to respond nonverbally but exhibited right-sided weakness that did not seem “Improved” as per the previous shift’s report. The RN found the patient’s vital signs stable and called the telemetry technician to inquire about the patient’s EKG, who confirmed there had been no changes in the patient’s vital signs. During this time, the RN was also responsible for admitting an additional patient, as well as tending to a high acuity fall risk patient who continuously set off his bed alarm by getting out of bed. The combination of the above events led to a delay in that the RN being able to access prior assessments to determine whether any potential change in patient status had occurred.
As a result of the misconduct of the RN and as a conclusion to the case, a Notice was served in accordance with the law. The evidence received by the Board was sufficient enough to prove that the RN committed a violation of 22 TEXAS ADMINISTRATION CODE and is cause pursuant to Section 301.452(b)(10)(13), Texas Occupations Code. The Board has subjected to take disciplinary action against the RN.
The RN could have avoided such an outcome if he had hired or consulted a nurse attorney for the case. Hiring the right nurse attorney to deal with such cases is very important before facing the Board, you need a person who can defend you and protect your license.
Do you have questions about the Texas Board of Nursing disciplinary process? Contact The Law Office of RN License Attorney Yong J. An for a confidential consultation by calling or texting 24/7 at (832) 428-5679 and ask for attorney Yong.