Freeked Out In A Law Suit

[CMORELOCK45]

I am have recently been named in a law suit by an OD we recieved in the ER one night. The pt was brought in by EMS. Lab work revieled methadone, valium, phenergan, thc and etoh on board. I followed normal protocol;ewall, folley, monitory o2 ect.

The suit states that I sexually molested the pt. The pt as well as my self are male. I am married with a child. I have ER MD documentation of pt halucinating and low respirations ect. He received cha, narcan and romazicon. Later documentation in the ICU from an out of house psych facility shows Halucinations and delusions. The hosp. has provided an attorney. He says not to worry that this will not make it past deposition. My concern is that There was not much nursing documentation on him in th ER due to the fact that he was out of it most of the time. There is doc. of sternal rubs due to LOC and things of that nature, This is my first, and hopfully, my last suit. Any advise or coments? Als there have been no criminal reports filed agianst me and the date has passed for him to do any. The lawyer says my lisc. is not in jeopardy. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Quailfeather]

The original post in this thread was back in Feb. Like everyone else, I am wondering what the outcome was. Does anyone know?

I was named in a lawsuit years ago and my personal malpractice insurance was worthless. When I contacted them and gave them the details, they told me that since I was working within my scope of practice and was following hospital protocol I was acting as an agent of the hospital and it was the responsibility of the hospital attorney to represent me. I was shocked! I then asked what was the purpose of having this insurance and I was told that it would cover me if I ever did something outside my scope of practice. Needless to say, I dropped the insurance. My hospital did represent me (they were also named in the suit) and ended up settling out of court on the condition that I be dropped from the suit. The plaintiff was a rape suspect who was brought to our ER for a suspect exam. All I did was take his vital signs, but I was accused of battery because I touched him (putting on the cuff) without his consent. He was intoxicated at the time but was very cooperative. Normally a suspect under arrest does not have to give consent for an exam. However, he had a good attorney and it turned out that he had not been arrested properly so he was able to make a case. I just found out earlier this month that our case was instrumental in changes made in arrest procedure and DOJ forms for rape suspects.

It's amazing what patients will sue over. The OD patient mentioned in this thread doesn't sound like he has much of a case, though. I sure would like to know how it turned out.

[Dragonnurse1, ASN, RN]

I was an ER nurse for 10 years. I have had to go to depositions twice. Neither case even made it past the first meeting. One claimed that we "let" the patient die. Trust your hospital atty in the first stages. If you jump out and get your own it makes things worse. (Trust me, they could be worse). Tell the truth and do not vary from your facts. OD's usually do not go very far with their cases due to the legal position that once the patient is unconscious you have his unspoken permission to treat him. Also attempted suicide is illegal:D

Talk to your ER manager and your medical director New Standards for treating OD's state that E-wal's are no longer acceptable treatment UNLESS done within 20 - 30 minutes of ingestion. Charcoal/sorbital po, supportative measures etc. are now the standard. If patient has unstable resp. status then intubation is in order.

Rest easy - do not borrow worry about this. It is your first but most likely not your last. His lies with come out with repeated questioning and if his lawyer is coaching him, that will come out too:rolleyes:

So rest your heart, keep strong in your faith, take comfort from your family and remember

He will be back again with another OD and imagine the "treatment" he will get.

As one of our ER Doc's would say, "Two groups of people you should never tick off 1- the people who cook your food and

2 the nurses taking care of you, because both groups have very sutle ways of getting even.:angryfire

[Havin' A Party!, ASN, RN]

Coming in a little late to the discussion, but just saw the thread.

Wanted to register my vote for: involving our own attorney early on, and securing a professional liability policy.