Murphy Jones LLP has filed a civil complaint in the District Court of Nevada on behalf of nurse Jessica Rice, RN against Sunrise Hospital Medical Center, et. al., for Defamation, Wrongful Termination, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, Negligence, Conspiracy, Civil RICO violations and Fraud in relation to an ongoing dispute arising from Sunrise Hospital’s allegations of “intentional patient harm” against infant patients in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

On July 2, 2010, two-month old baby Miowne Obote died from complications stemming from a disrupted catheter line. Sunrise Hospital requested that the Las Vegas Metro Police Dept. investigate fourteen (14) incidents of disrupted catheters, and the subsequent police investigation has not led to any criminal charges being filed. The Clark County Coroner has admitted that his initial determination that the death was a homocide was not supported by any County Coroner investigation and instead he relied on the conclusion of the allegedly flawed analysis by an expert that Sunrise Hospital hired.

Subsequently, both Ms. Rice, and another NICU nurse were summarily suspended from nursing practice by the Nevada Board of Nursing. After an independent investigation, the Nevada Board of Nursing found no evidence of wrongdoing and reinstated both nurses’ licenses. (“Fired Sunrise nurse files suit,” Harasim 5/31/12, Las Vegas Review-Journal.)

Sunrise Hospital terminated the employment of both of nurses based on an alleged policy violation. The nurses’ union, (Service Employees International Union of Nevada; i.e., SEIU NV), filed a grievance against the hospital for wrongful termination. In December 2011, the Federal Arbitrator found in favor of Ms. Rice and issued an Order requiring Sunrise Hospital to reinstate Ms. Rice to her former position in the NICU and awarded her back pay. To date, Sunrise Hospital has refused to comply with the Arbitrator’s decision. The nurses’ union (SEIU) has filed a lawsuit in Federal Court seeking to enforce the Arbitrator’s decision.

The civil Complaint filed by Murphy Jones LLP on behalf of Ms. Rice on May 29, 2012, alleges that Sunrise Hospital was made aware of “at least thirteen (13) incidents involving intravenous catheter lines, in which the catheters became separated in two (2) of the incidents…interrupting the flow of fluids through the catheter. After two (2) catheter incidents resulted in harm or potential harm to infants in May 2010, Defendants intentionally, and/or with reckless disregard for the truth and/or negligently began a course of conduct that focused aggressively on employee Plaintiff Jessica Rice as the presumed suspect for the cause of the catheter incidents, labeled her as a ‘person of interest,’ terminated her from her employment without just cause, exposed her to public contempt, ridicule and disgrace and induced evil opinion of her.”

Aspiring nurses must complete fingerprinting with LiveScan, and the board must receive the results from the Dept. of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation which can take 3 – 6 weeks. As of August 10, 2009, the Board is no longer issuing interim or temporary licenses prior to the completion of the fingerprinting process. This process can be lengthy and should be prepared in advanced to ensure timely licensing and/or certification. If you need help with the licensing process, contact our attorneys for a consultation.

http://www.rn.ca.gov/

Calif. to start dropping children from state plan – Modern Healthcare

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South Dakota class action similar to Las Vegas endoscopy clinic suit. http://bit.ly/xNbS8. The recent Las Vegas endoscopy clinic practice of re-using syringe vials which led to a Hepatitis outbreak among patients has a sister personal injury medical malpractice legal action stemming from similar practices in a South Dakota facility.

The recency of the lawsuits make for interesting ongoing comparisons in the cases’ developments.  The healthcare attorneys at Murphy Jones LLP will keep you informed as to the respective outcome in each matter, the similarities and differences in each states’ action, and the impact on local Nevada legislation and medical practices.

CMS published an announcement 7.20.09 describing regulatory changes that will impact standards for Medicare reimbursement starting 2010. The press release articulated the definition of “direct supervision” of an physician who is supervising nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists and/or certified nurse midwives as,”For services provided in the hospital, direct supervision means that the physician must be present in the hospital or on campus and immediately available to furnish assistance and direction throughout the performance of the procedure. For services furnished in an off-campus outpatient department, direct supervision means the physician must be present in the off-campus department and available to furnish assistance and direction throughout the performance of the procedure. In or out of the hospital, the physician need not be present in the room when the procedure is performed.” FEDERAL REGISTER July 20, 2009 Pgs. 35424 – 35425

Murphy Jones LLP healthcare attorneys stay informed of medical industry developments, such as this, which may affect a practitioner’s ability to successfully protect her license in disciplinary hearings before State Boards. Our administrative law practice incorporates information from all arena’s affecting the healthcare industry and our clients’ rights.

Teamsters have filed an additional charge of Unfair Labor Practices with the National Labor Relations Board for alleged retaliatory conduct against employee Dale Slover, RN. Nurse Slover testified in May 2009 against the hospital and has filed a subsequent quality review report. See: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jul/04/teamsters-boulder-city-hospital-retaliated-/

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Visit us at http://twitter.com/NurseAttorneys , and start following today to keep informed about recent developments.