Accused of neglegence. victim of CYA at wound clinic?

Published Apr 5, 2013

49 Posts

So i had a wound vac that got infected and there were two episodes that stick out in my mind.

On one visit i dropped the foam after cutting it and the client said "whatever, go ahead and put it on" I told him how bad that would be and cut another peice.

On another visit i was holding the foam in my fingertips, and, you know how the blue backing on the drapes sticks to everything? it was clinging to my first metacarpal - about 3 inches from the foam i was holding, and i tried blowing it off. the client had experience working in a clean room and said "that sort of blowing can get stuff on the foam." so i again cut a new piece of foam.

I am certain that before either of these things happened, the patient's wound was ALREADY infected, and i have witnesses to back me up.

Couple weeks later, my boss calls and says the patient told them that i dropped the foam, put it on his wound, and it subsequently became infected. I tell him what happened.

a week later, I was expecting to get a reasonable raise, and a different assignment with more patient care. I was offered $ well below market value as far as i can tell, and my boss says I can't see patients anymore because of this client's accusations even though he says he believes my story AND many other nurses had problems with this client. No charges have been filed against me or my agency. I can imagine a couple reasons for what happened:

*I suspect that this was just a miscommunication with the patient. he's an engineer type - I am an engineer type, and as such can imagine many ways a conversation between him and a nurse at the wound clinic could go wrong. If he were lying i would think he would have sued me by now. also, the high density of ESL nurses in my area could cause miscommunication.

* his wound was infected - some one at the wound clinic is throwing me under the bus after hearing a story they could twist to suit their purposes.

* I am one of the few BSNs in my office, and I have proven myself the best person available for auditing charts. (quick aside to illustrate - I asked all the nurses in a meeting what ADPIE was, and NOBODY could answer! we routinely have nurses identifying problems and not documenting interventions!) Maybe my boss is lying or at least exaggerating so they can pay me poorly for a job I don't even want. I was a 2 year unemployed new grad when i got hired here and when i complained I was told "at least we hire new grads." I have been doing this job for 1.5 years. NOT a new grad anymore.

* finally, MAYBE the wound clinic has accurate info as they see it, AND my boss believes me but is showing he did something to me to CYA, AND my boss is low-balling me just cuz he thinks he can AND he's giving me a job I don't want because he has no other option.

What can i do? Should I go to the wound clinic to get their side of the story? is there any safe way to contact the patient to get his side of the story? should i get a lawyer? What is a fair rate in the california bay area to audit OASIS? will anyone reputable consider hiring a 1.5 year home health nurse with no acute exp?

Thank you in advance for any advice :)