Subpoena for Court

Farawyn · Jan 3, 2018

No. Not in the hospital, either. Ugh. I hope all is well.

Flare, ASN, BSN · Jan 3, 2018

Ugh - how stressful! I hope everything works out for you.

i haven't gotten a subpeona, but i have been investigated by the state by a parent that filed a complaint to the abuse board. 9 months of sheer hell to find out that the complaint wasn't even directed at me. I was so glad that my charting was in order. The lawyer I met with looked like a happy little pup when I was able to bring him a stack of charting showing him my interactions with the child were all appropriate and professional. Charting - keep it tight, yo!

OldDude · Jan 3, 2018

Not for nursing...it's a cliche but true, very true; just answer the question truthfully and shut up.

AdobeRN · Jan 3, 2018

not for school nursing and hopefully never. My first nursing job was at a jail. I was called to court once - inmate was acting a fool ended up being pepper sprayed and put in 5 point restraints - my job as a nurse was to administer care after the pepper spray incident and do Q15 minute circulation checks. Inmate ended up filing a complaint that she was refused medical care by the sheriffs - I was not named in the complaint but because I was the treating nurse I was pulled into the mess - thankfully I had great documentation and the care given was not really questioned and I guess proved that the inmates claim was not exactly the truth. Scared the crap outta me though - I immediately gave my notice and found another job.

amoLucia · Jan 3, 2018

Avoid posting anything on social media and also avoid discussing anything with anyone NOT assoc with the case.

A lawyer will tell you this.

WineRN · Jan 5, 2018

Never personally, but all of the nurse's in my district get a brief talk on what to do if we believe families are considering litigation and/or if we have been given a subpeona. If you are invited to a "meeting" by the parent and are uncomfortable attending prior to the case, don't. You are allowed to say no, and reschedule when you can call for back up (be it your supervisor or if you are in your school's union, the union lawyer). As old dude said, just answer the question and stop talking. Be confident in what you charted because that is what will be combed through. Know your district's polices and your scope as a school nurse.

I can't even imagine the stress.

aprilmoss · Jan 5, 2018

We had a bad abuse case of a special ed kid back when I was in the elementary school. Several of us got subpoena'd for the hearing. THe school system lawyer gave us some support and the teachers had one through their union.

At least in our case it wasn't adversarial against the school. It was the state trying to remove a kid from an abusive home.

OldDude · Jan 5, 2018

One of the worst experiences of my life was when we adopted our daughter. Ugly, ugly, 3 years of legal battles that ended up in a jury trial. Sweet Petunia, Me, and SP's mother and father were subjected to two days of vicious attacks in the trial by the opposition attorney who incessantly tried to get me to say something he could use against me; especially since I am a RN and school nurse. I stuck to the truth, whether I thought it would benefit or hinder our cause, answered the questions, and shut up. The jury took about 15 minutes to come to a unanimous decision for us to adopt and awarded "them" ZERO of the $150,000.00 for damages they had demanded.

Like I say, answer the question, and shut up.

ruby_jane, BSN, RN · Jan 8, 2018

Your district probably has a person tasked with advising you (and although I can't remember who that is here, I do remember we're not supposed to talk to lawyers, the media, etc.)

Are you a union member? I only ask because if it's a complaint against you, I'd tell you to lawyer up and apparently our unions pay for a lawyer.

If it's not a complaint about you, do what Old Dude said...answer the question asked and don't get flustered or drawn into opinion questions.