Attorney contacted me about lawsuit

Nurses General Nursing

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Attorney contacted me about a civil suit about a case filed against the hospital. I was not at fault, but they're literally trying to bring everyone involved. This happened over 2 years ago and no longer work for the hospital being sued. The attorney asked that I meet with him at my convenience and I said I have no interest in meeting wirh him or being "prepped" in any way. I've advised him the people they need to be talking to have MD, NP, or PA after their names, not RN.

I work nights to the tune of 60 hours a week and have zero interest taking time out of my sleep for which I won't be compensated when it's not of my doing. If I must appear in court, I will be in scrubs and sleeping.

What would you do?

There's only three ways a prudent person answers questions in a deposition" "Yes, No" and "I don't recall"

hppy

Wrong-o. You will be asked things like, "Would it be fair to say that...?" "Do you agree that...?" and maybe you do, or maybe you don't, or maybe it's not that simple, or maybe "I don't know" isn't a plausible answer. You will be asked questions with a lot of double negatives in them. All sorts of verbal maneuverings can trip up a witness in depo or at trial.

PP was correct in that a very small minority (like 4%) of malpractice cases ever go to trial. I do defense and plaintiff work, so I don't have to listen to anybody call me a defense whore or a plaintiff whore. The best advice is to tell the absolute truth and nothing but, ask the questioner to rephrase, never answer hypotheticals, and never provide more information than you're asked for. Take a deep breath before you answer anything.

There is a wonderful article in the upcoming Journal of Legal Nurse Consulting on being an expert witness, and a round-table discussion from a bunch of nurses who share their experiences (good and bad), advice, and opinions for exactly this process. It will be up at AALNC : American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants > journal of legal nurse consulting in about a week or so, free access.

And before you ever even get asked any questions at all, it's not a bad idea to talk once with the hospital risk manager to get the lay of the land. But do not sign ANYTHING and do involve your company now.

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^^^Accuracy compels me to point out that 'taking the Fifth' applies only to criminal proceedings and your legal right to not incriminate yourself by testimony. It does not apply to deposition or trial testimony in a civil proceeding.

Actually The 5th does apply to civil proceedings (Unless you are a corporation)

Because the privilege "can be asserted in any proceeding, civil or criminal, administrative or judicial, investigatory or adjudicatory, Kastigar v. United States, 406 U.S. 441, 445 (1972)

In the landmark Miranda v. Arizona ruling, the United States Supreme Court extended the Fifth Amendment protections to encompass any situation outside of the courtroom that involves the curtailment of personal freedom. 384 U.S. 436 (1966).

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/fifth_amendment

McCarthy v. Arndstein, 266 U.S. 34 (1924). Privilege against self incrimination under

the Fifth Amendment applies alike to civil and criminal proceedings, wherever the answer

might tend to subject to criminal responsibility him who gives it.”

http://www.sualaw.com/Appearances-Articles/Fifth_Amendment_Right_Against_Self_Incrimination_in_Civil_Cases.pdf

Different states have modified rules regarding invoking of 5th amendment rights in criminal proceedings....But it is TOTALLY false that the 5th amendment only applies to criminal proceedings. However, the general understanding is if answering the question will indeed incriminate... you can plead the 5th amendment. Civil, depositions, police interrogations, etc... There is no blanket ban against pleading the 5th in civil proceedings.

Fifth Amendment - Self-Incrimination Lawyers | LegalMatch Law Library

Invoking The Fifth Amendment In Civil Cases | Abel Law Firm

"Although the actual wording of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says a person shall not be … compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself”, the right has been found applicable to civil actions as well. Natural persons in danger of facing criminal charges do not have to testify, answer interrogatories or produce documents about matters potentially incriminating to them".

Please research the links and the applicable case laws. Everyone should be inform of their rights and the extent of there applicability.

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Specializes in Healthcare risk management and liability.

Note that your citations specify how the Fifth applies only to testimony that may result in criminal culpability. This does not apply in the typical civil proceeding and certainly not in the situation described by the OP, in which risk management/counsel want to talk to him about civil litigation involving a physician failure to diagnose.

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If you truly don't recall then you can answer that way, otherwise no, you cannot say that. You can actually be asked about the actions of other based on your understand of standards of care, protocols, etc. I don't think you know what it means to 'plead the fifth'.

. True, this is why the OP was encouraged to get prepped, which they refused.

. That's exactly what it means actually.

You're absolutely free to require the plaintiff to subpoena you, which they will have no problem doing, and in the deal have them go after your practice, I'm not sure why anyone would voluntarily choose that though.

1. Not answering questions is not inherently..does not automatically equate to contempt.

Inherently defines as an inseparable and permanent component...If there is a legal way (pleading the 5th) to avoid answering certain questions..then there lies a point of separation and thus not inherent. There are instances where using the 5th may be seen as contempt..but that's situational and not inherent to the concept.

2. "You're absolutely free to require the plaintiff to subpoena you, which they will have no problem doing, and in the deal have them go after your practice, I'm not sure why anyone would voluntarily choose that though."

And if there is no problem doing it...then why not let them do it? :)OH----Because of the fear that they will "go after your practice" ? And what practice is that?... The charts?..Your License? If so, then the "fear" still exist even when voluntarily complying? As, there is no way to insure that voluntarily complying increases the likelihood of them not 'going after your practice'

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Note that your citations specify how the Fifth applies only to testimony that may result in criminal culpability. This does not apply in the typical civil proceeding and certainly not in the situation described by the OP, in which risk management/counsel want to talk to him about civil litigation involving a physician failure to diagnose.

You need to READ the information provided before you attempt to dispute it! As none of the sources say that the 5th does NOT apply to civil proceedings. You stated that the 5th only applied to criminal proceedings and you are WRONG!

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Specializes in CVICU.

Lot of bad advice in this thread, even from people who have "experience." Listen to your attorney/friend….people acting like you are in some kinda trouble.:facepalm:

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Better call Saul.

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Please note that some posts have been edited and/or removed.

Please do not make this a one-on-one discussion as it will always result in derailing the thread.

Making it personal does not do well. Please just stick to facts and debate the topic, not each other.

Thank you.

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My nephew is an attorney. He has always told me contact my prior to talking with anyone else. Then ask to see my notes prior to making any comments. He said read your notes, look at them and say what question do you have about my documentation. Answered the questions calmly with references to what you have documented only. Then say unless it is in regard to what I have documented I have no other answers. He said like everyone else. You can be tied up for days or month even years with lawyers trying to get you to say something they can turn around to benefit their case. He said be brief, then say I have nothing else to add other than what is written. Once they see you will not budge, they will send you on your way. Good luck!

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