Our office represented a Licensed Vocational Nurse who was facing a formal Accusation for Unprofessional Conduct, Gross Negligence, and Incompetence stemming from a death at a Residential Care Facility. This LVN was accused of patient care and documentation violations. Although the LVN’s employer nor the Department of Public Health found her at fault, the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians determined that the patient’s death was a result of her nursing care.
After being retained, our office made a demand for Discovery, which should have included medical records, the facilities policies and procedures, the investigation file from the California Agencies, and everything relied upon by the Attorney General’s Office to bring the Accusation. After receipt of the Discovery, it became clear that key information was never received by the Board or reviewed by the investigator, Board’s expert or Attorney General’s Office. It is important to note, that the Board specifically charged the LVN for failing to appropriately document her care, without ever reviewing the patient’s medical file or our client’s documentation.
Understanding the legal violation of this omission and the repercussions to our LVN, our office zealously represented our Client. After several delays by the Board, and an independent expert review from one of our nursing consultants, the Board’s expert retracted her report and stated that our LVN did not deviate from the standard of care.
Based upon the Board’s expert’s change in opinion, on the eve of hearing was set to begin the Accusation was withdrawn and the case was dismissed. The Accusation was removed from Breeze – so now, there is no public record of this matter.
Had our LVN not had experienced legal representation, they may not have known that the Board was being disingenuous with the evidence. Throughout this matter the Board pushed settlement terms of probation, asserted that their costs to litigate this matter were increasing, and discussed ramifications of our client taking this matter to hearing. With strategic litigation, the matter was dismissed and our Client’s name and license were cleared of any wrongdoing.
If you are facing an Accusation by your licensing Board, and need legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
** This information is a sample of past results. Information provided on this website does not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter. Every case is different, and each case must be evaluated on its own merits. The circumstances of your case may differ from the results provided above. Legal Advertisement. **