Falsifying documents is considered a criminal offense that is punishable by a fine or even jail time. It is also considered a medical malpractice case. An LVN involved in such a case could lose his/her license. Altering or tampering with medical records can be dangerous to the patients. But if an LVN is accused of doing such a crime, a nurse attorney is crucially needed.
At the time of the initial incident, she was employed as an LVN at a medical facility in Fort Worth, Texas, and had been in that position for approximately three (3) years.
On or about April 1, 2020, through April 16, 2020, while employed as an LVN at a medical facility in Fort Worth, Texas, and assigned to provide nursing care for a patient, LVN falsified nursing documentation in that she was charting from her own home and was not physically with the patient. Additionally, LVN signed the patient’s mother’s name on the nursing notes and had not been in the patient’s home since March 31, 2020. LVN’s conduct created an inaccurate medical record and was likely to deceive other caregivers who needed complete information on which to base their care.
In response, LVN states this entire situation started at the beginning of the stay-at-home orders for the COVID 19 pandemic. LVN states the coordinators informed her to continue working as normal. According to LVN, her hours were 6:30 am to 5:30 pm Monday – Friday. LVN states one of the family members started working from home, so she called the office about the hours. Per LVN, she was reassured she would get paid all her hours if she was there for half a day and that it was very important not to go over the family’s given hours. LVN states she went in, performed her assessment, and did her duties. She also states the family was in the home the entire time she was there. LVN claims she never falsified nursing documentation but did document it as a late entry. LVN states on April 16, 2020, she received a phone call telling her she needed to come to the office for coaching on charting. LVN states she wishes she had handled it differently.
The above action constitutes 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) and 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.12(1)(B),(1)(C),(6)(A),&(6)(H).
A case was ultimately filed against her before the Texas Board of Nursing (BON). The said allegation was fatal to the LVN’s capability to perform the essential functions and duties. Sad to say, the nursing defense attorney who handled her case was not able to properly defend her interests and rights before the Board. The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) found her guilty of the offense alleged in the complaint and decided to place her RN license under disciplinary action.
If you also received a letter from the Texas Board of Nursing regarding a case or complaint filed against you, you should hire a nurse attorney immediately before it’s too late. Texas Nurse Attorney Yong J. An is one of those dedicated nurse attorneys who helped represent more than 150 nurse cases for the past 16 years. You may contact him 24/7 at (832) 428-5679 for more information or if you want to schedule a private consultation.
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