The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) has the jurisdiction to hear and decide cases involving the practice of professional nursing in Texas. Any RN/LVN in Texas found guilty for violating the state laws and regulations may be subjected to a disciplinary case. The complaint can be filed before the Texas Board of Nursing (BON). When it comes to disciplinary proceedings before an administrative body in the state of Texas, the first thing that you need to take into consideration is to hire the best Texas nurse attorney. This attorney can help any RN/LVN defend himself and try to prevent the revocation of the license of RN/LVN in Texas.
At the time of the incident, he was employed as an LVN at a medical facility in Temple, Texas, and had been in that position for seven (7) months.
On or about July 9, 2020, while employed as an LVN at a medical facility in Temple, Texas, LVN failed to intervene for approximately seven (7) hours, including failure to notify the neurosurgeon, after a patient, diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage after a fall, presented with a change in neurological status from baseline at the beginning of his shift. Further, LVN failed to document the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) when assessing the patient’s neurological status, and failed to document any nursing interventions or communications with health team members. Subsequently; the patient experienced worsening brain hemorrhage and required an emergency craniotomy before the shift ended. LVN’s conduct created an incomplete medical record and was likely to injure the patient from delayed treatment.
In response, LVN states he was told during the report at 10:30 p.m. that the patient had an initial GCS score of fifteen (15), and that the patient would respond to physical stimuli by moaning and was also snoring. LVN states the patient arrived at the intensive care unit at 10:40 p.m. and he assessed the patient to have a GCS score of five (5). LVN further states he spoke with the nurse practitioner at 12:00 a.m. and at 1:00 a.m. called the Radiology Department to request a previously scheduled Computerized Tomography (CT) be completed as soon as possible. LVN states his request was denied. LVN states he called the off-site radiology provider at 2:40 a.m. and requested a STAT read of the CT results. LVN stated the neurosurgeon called him at 4:00 a.m. stating he had been contacted regarding the test results and to prepare the patient for surgery. LVN states the CT of the head had been ordered as a routine test and, had it not been for her interventions, the results would not have been read by the on-site radiologist until after 8:00 a.m. LVN states he performed hourly neurological assessments from which the GCS could be deduced and he did not re-enter the GCS each hour as the score did not change. LVN further states he failed to document his communications with the other members of the healthcare team and also states he should have notified the physician earlier of the low GCS scores.
The above actions constitute grounds for disciplinary action in accordance with Section 301.463(b)(10)&(13), Texas Occupations Code, and is a violation of 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.11(1)(A),(1)(B),(1)(D),(1)(M),(1)(P)&(3) and 22 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §217.12(1)(A),(1)(B),(1)(C)&(4).
The Texas Board of Nursing gave the LVN enough time to defend the complaints filed against him. However, there was a failure on the LVN’s part to find the right RN/LVN license attorney to handle his case. The negligence of the RN/LVN license attorney led to the decision of the Texas BON to place the LVN’s license under disciplinary action.
Equip yourself with the knowledge and expertise you need for a successful outcome by consulting a knowledgeable and experienced Texas RN/LVN nurse attorney. Texas Nurse Attorney Yong J. An is one of those dedicated nurse attorneys who helped represent more than 300 nurse cases for the past 16 years. Contact the Law Office of Yong J. An 24/7 through text or call at (832) 428-5679 for a confidential consultation regarding any accusations from the Texas BON.