As the nurse manager, you are required to review all of theincidents that occur on your unit to determine if the incidentswere reported according to protocol, and if the appropriatefollow-up has been completed. One of the more recent incidentreports concerns a patient who was injured when the IV controlslipped on the IV pole and pinned her hand between the controllerand a platform on the pole that provided a secondary reinforcementfor the controller. The report as filed stated, “Patient wasambulating to the bathroom at 10:30 PM and using the IV pole tostabilize herself while walking. The controller fell down the poleand pinned the patient’s right hand to the metal platformimmediately below the controller. Injury to the hand was evident.The hand immediately began to swell, and the patient reported painat 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. X-ray revealed a fracture of the thirdand fourth metacarpals of the right hand. Physician notified,responded, and orthopedic consult ordered.” The corresponding notein the patient record read, “Patient ambulating to bathroom usingIV pole for support. IV controller fell, pinning hand and resultingin injury. This would not have happened if the patient’s call bellwas promptly answered and if she was assisted by nursing personnelto the bathroom as ordered. Patient stated she used her call bell,waited, and then tried to get to the bathroom by herself. Nurseswere in report at the time of the incident. Physician notified,x-rays taken, incident report filed.”
1. Identify potential liability from this incident.
2. How does the nurse’s note increase the potential liabilityfor the individual nurse, the nurse manager, and theinstitution?
3. What part of the nurse’s note would you remove so thatpotential liability is avoided.
4. How do you begin to counsel this nurse? How do you preventfuture incidents such as this from occurring?
