You Need an Attorney
Medscape's Ask the Expert feature receives a substantial number of queries from nurses who believe they may need an attorney for a work-related matter. These situations range from problems with supervisors to patient safety issues.
For a nurse, it's time to hire an attorney when:
•You are unsure whether you have legal rights in a given situation; •You think your legal rights have been violated, and you have gone through your employer's organizational system without a resolution; •You have been served with lawsuit papers; •Your state's Board of Nursing has notified you that someone has filed a complaint against you; •You have been offered an employment agreement and want it reviewed before signing; •You have an employment agreement, and the other party isn't following the terms of the contract; •You are aware that an employer is knowingly violating a law; or •You believe that a facility is compromising patient safety, and your efforts to work within the system to correct the problems have been ignored or rebuffed. When a Nurse Needs an Attorney: Key Examples Here are some examples of situations in which a nurse needed an attorney:
Situation 1: Forced overtime. A registered nurse working at a hospital is required often to work 2-4 hours beyond the end of his shift, despite a state law that prohibits employers from requiring overtime. The nurse believes the law prohibiting mandatory overtime applies to his situation but is not certain, and his attempts to point out the problem to his supervisors have been ignored. He is worried that if he refuses to stay late, he will be charged with patient abandonment and fired.
This nurse needs an attorney, who will gather the facts of his situation, review the state law on mandatory overtime, and either tell the nurse that the law doesn't apply to him or help the nurse apply the law to relieve the chronic overtime demands.
Situation 2: Dangerous physician. Six nurses at a hospital have voiced concerns to their managers over a course of several years about the care being provided by a physician on staff. The hospital has failed to act on the nurses' complaints. The nurses worry that a patient will be harmed. Several of the nurses have been denied promotions, and they believe the denials are in retaliation for speaking up about their concerns. The nurses aren't sure whether they are whistle-blowers and, if they are, how whistle-blower laws might apply to them.
These nurses need an attorney who will gather the facts; review the law on whistle-blowers and patient safety issues as applied to this case; advise the nurses about the pros and cons of whistle-blowing; and, if necessary, guide the nurses through the whistle-blower process.
Situation 3: Derogatory supervisor. A nurse's supervisor has,...
"I" took a nurse's aides training class when Ca. began to demand a liscense for home care providers.ONe thing the nurse who was the class' instructor said something that seemed so petty at that time...but over the years, I have seen law suits to assure me what she said was far from petty.
She said chart every thing that happens and chart it like one day you may end up in court trying to explain it and you had better make sure it is full and professional. She meant if a patient fell, had a tiny scratch of any thing you notice on your watch,you may believe it is minor because some thimes these things things take years to begin to cause a medicalproblem in your patient.
Today, people will sue you if you look at them wrong. LOL!!! (smile)
Thursday, April 10th 2014 at 6:47PM
ROBINSON IRMA
...Actually they should pay the nurse the doctor's pay, because they sure do his/ her job. (smile)
Thursday, April 10th 2014 at 6:47PM
ROBINSON IRMA
