Possible lawsuit from a new grad I was only trying to help

roser13, ASN, RN · May 8, 2015

1. Hire your own attorney.

2. Do NOT interact with her at work. Inform your employer that she has created a hostile work environment and that you are unable to work with her.

marmolejo619 · May 8, 2015

Thank you only problem is I just spent almost all of my savings on my new house. Is there some sort of public defender or nursing association that I can contact. I heard a lot of new nurses are claiming this type of harassment.

icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN · May 8, 2015

About 15 years ago I worked for a hospital system that imported some ICU nurses from India. They wore white dresses stockings and white dress shoes with high heels. I'm not kidding. They were acccustomed to being supervisors not bedside nurses and they lasted all of two

weeks. If she is anything like those nurses from India, she wont last long. If this nurse is here on a Visa, then it wasn't very smart to make allegations of harassment. Have you been served with a lawsuit? Did she file a discrimination claim with the EEOC? Have you talked to HR?

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TheCommuter, BSN, RN · May 8, 2015

1. Do not interact with her.

2. If you must interact with her, prearrange the interaction to ensure you have an uninvolved coworker witness the interaction.

roser13, ASN, RN · May 8, 2015

1. Do not interact with her.
2. If you must interact with her, prearrange the interaction to ensure you have an uninvolved coworker witness the interaction.

Starting yesterday.

mvm2 · May 8, 2015

Sometimes our best and good intentions to help people will turn around and bite us. Sorry this is happening to you. Hire a good attorney and maybe they can see that the women really has no case against you and you won't have to go to court. I agree with the others don't even speak to her because if they don't have a strong case against you they will try to bait you now to get something on you they can use in court. Simply say I am sorry but until our dispute is resolved I can not talk to you.

KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN · May 8, 2015

1). Do not interact with her. Even in breakroom. Even not saying "hi". Refuse all assignments where you have to report to each other, do not watch her patients during breaks, do not enter a room of "her" patient under any circumstances.

2). All your interactions with this nurse and/or with a boss of any of you or both, must happen with witnesses around. More than one witness at a time, names recorded. Every word said by any of you must be documented in some way.

3). Contact the nearest university which has law school. These places often has "law clinics" where students may get experience. They work under their tutors who might either be experts themselves or know one. In addition, services are usually free or very cheap and students work like crazy because that's their grades and contacts.

4). From now on, document everything like if your life depends on it.

5). As an one of very many who had the first year of nursing turned into pure hell, I wish to believe that you really "only wanted to help" and was misunderstood. Do not use "cultural difference"as an argument to justify or explain your actions. As a nurse, you are supposed to understand that such things exist and act respectfully toward anyone, another nurse or not. Misunderstanding is one thing, "teaching English" (i.e. making fun publicly and repeatedly about someone's mispronunsiations and accent and claiming that as "helping" later) is totally another one, as an example.

BrandonLPN, LPN · May 8, 2015

I didn't realize this was something one could sue another person over. Weird.

KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN · May 8, 2015

BrandonLPN,

imagine someone thinking that your peculiar pronunciation of, say, "th" (the, that, these, etc.) is somehow VERY MUCH IMPORTANT for your career as a nurse. Guided by the noble and wholehearted wish to help, this someone starts to correct you. Every time you say that, every working day, every time you or someone can hear. In the meantime, this someone tells everyone who listens that you are "defensive", "got attitude" and "not receptive". When you ask, first very politely, then somewhat less so, to please stop this nonsence, the next thing you know is that the whole unit and your boss in addition discussing your being "so rude" and not receptive to someone's heroic efforts to bring your English to the high standard of your SNF and maybe even being, OMG, That Not A Good Fit Pariah.

I went through THAT. I won't wish THAT to my worst enemy. I hope it was different from what OP did.

BrandonLPN, LPN · May 8, 2015

BrandonLPN,
imagine someone thinking that your peculiar pronunciation of, say, "th" (the, that, these, etc.) is somehow VERY MUCH IMPORTANT for your career as a nurse. Guided by the noble and wholehearted wish to help, this someone starts to correct you. Every time you say that, every working day, every time you or someone can hear. In the meantime, this someone tells everyone who listens that you are "defensive", "got attitude" and "not receptive". When you ask, first very politely, then somewhat less so, to please stop this nonsence, the next thing you know is that the whole unit and your boss in addition discussing your being "so rude" and not receptive to someone's heroic efforts to bring your English to the high standard of your SNF and maybe even being, OMG, That Not A Good Fit Pariah.
I went through THAT. I won't wish THAT to my worst enemy. I hope it was different from what OP did.

I would be very offended and annoyed, for sure. But I still can't imagine suing someone over it.

AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · May 8, 2015

Just another money hungry person that doesn't want to earn it! I am sorry you are going through this!

Annie