A lot of cases can be filed against an RN or an LVN, one of those cases is about cases of negligence. Many nurses are being accused of negligence which happens when an RN or LVN commits mistakes, errors, and failures while they are doing their job. When RNs and LVNs are experiencing such a scenario, it is best to contact a nurse attorney to help them deal with and fight the case.
At the time of the initial incident, an RN was employed as a Registered Nurse at a hospital in Lufkin, Texas, and had been in that position for four (4) years and three (3) months.
On or about January 7, 2021, while employed as a Registered Nurse, the RN failed to notify the surgeon or anesthesiologist when a patient experienced hypotension with increased heart rate after his laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and instead sped up the patient’s existing IV fluid infusion without an order for a bolus. Additionally, the RN discharged the patient from the PACU without documenting the vital signs she took from 1720 to the 1755 discharge as required. Subsequently, the patient was discharged from the hospital and then later presented to another facility in hypotensive shock, and was found to have three liters of blood in his abdomen requiring surgical treatment and admission to the intensive care unit. The RN’s conduct could have injured the patient and deprived the physician of information needed to institute timely medical interventions to stabilize the patient’s condition.
In response to the incident, the RN states that the patient’s presentation of hypotension, nausea, tachycardia, and diaphoresis is consistent with the clinical presentation of a vagal response, which she states is common after surgery. The RN states that she palpated the patient’s belly which was soft and tender, with no signs of post-operative bleeding such as distention; he also had no other signs of bleeding such as bruising, abdominal pain, or increased capillary refill time. The RN states that she sought a second opinion from the charge nurse, who agreed with her assessment of a vagal response, and agreed that she should administer a fluid bolus to relieve the patient’s symptoms, which is not an uncommon practice in the PACU. The RN states that the patient’s blood pressure immediately recovered after the bolus, and he asked to go home. The RN states that she took him off the monitor and assisted him to the bathroom to get dressed at 1730 and then out to the parking lot to be driven home. Afterward, when she returned to the patient’s room, she realized that another nurse had come by and turned off the monitor the patient had been connected to, which erased all the patient’s vital signs since the last time she saved them at 1700. Since the RN could no longer access the patient’s vital signs, she charted that his systolic blood pressure was in the 120s and his heart rate was in the 90s because she did not want to falsify his records by making up the numbers she could not exactly remember. The RN states that she appropriately assessed the patient and determined that discharge criteria had been met per policy and physician orders. The RN adds that the patient reported feeling fine and did not exhibit any symptoms of hypotensive or hemorrhagic shock, or any other issues that warranted calling a physician.
But due to what had happened, the Texas Board of Nursing (BON), therefore, decided to put the RN into discipline. Putting the RN into disciplinary proceedings will ensure that she will perform even better in the future or will do the right things.
If you’re facing cases such as this, be sure to hire a nurse attorney who can fully assist you. Texas nurse attorney Yong J. An is an experienced nurse attorney for more than 14 years. To contact him for inquiries or to schedule a confidential consultation, dial (832) 428-5679 to proceed.