Nurse fights false accusations, seeks legal remedies against accuser

She said the board found the allegations to be false and took no motion against her after the investigation. She wondered what legal recourse she now had against her ex-boyfriend. Unfortunately, false allegations against a nurse can have such devastating consequences. While it isn’t known what the allegations were against the nurse, there are some guidelines that may make it easier to in the event you ever end up in the same situation.

Don’t ignore your employer’s grievance policy

As I even have emphasized in other blogs, in the event you are fired for any reason, it will be significant to file a grievance through your employer’s grievance procedure if it means that you can challenge the dismissal. Being honest and providing the facts and any evidence you may provide is important. If you’ve work history, use your HR records within the proceedings. These records can be utilized in court cases, including nursing board proceedings.

In the case of RN, the grievance is crucial since the allegations were false. Not questioning them gives them credibility.

It is dangerous to not dwell on false allegations on the employment level (especially once they come from an ex-boyfriend) which will or may not relate to your skilled practice. You can make sure that board members will ask why the allegations weren’t challenged in the event that they are false.

Possible remedies against false accusations from the accuser

1) Nursing Practice Act and regulations

A promising legal treatment against someone who reports false allegations to the nursing board is present in the nursing practice act itself. Look for the supply in your statute that governs reports to the board. It will state that anyone who reports a matter to the board does so in good faith and that good faith is presumed. If a report is made under this provision, the person reporting is exempt from any civil or criminal liability because of this of the report. Good faith, also called bona fide, is legally defined in various ways, including “accurately,” “honestly,” “legally,” and “without malice toward another person.”

Because the RN nursing board found the ex-boyfriend’s accusations to be unfaithful, there’s an actual possibility that his statements weren’t made in good faith.

The next step for this nurse can be to hunt legal advice from a nurse attorney or lawyer to find out whether criminal or civil proceedings could be brought against her ex-boyfriend. It is vital to notice that she would should overcome the presumption of excellent faith afforded to him by the evidence that a criminal or civil court would consider when making a ruling on the report. One undeniable fact that could possibly be helpful in a criminal or civil case can be the grievance process and documents she used to file a grievance after being fired, even when the grievance was not resolved in her favor. The nurse practice laws that provide this protection and any available remedies for a foul faith report may vary from state to state.

2) Filing a civil lawsuit for defamation

A second promising cause for taking motion against an ex-boyfriend or someone who has falsely made accusations against it’s possible you’ll be a civil lawsuit for defamation.

Defamation encompasses two torts: libel (written) and slander (oral). It is unknown how the ex-boyfriend shared his false accusations with the RN’s employer or the nursing board. In each cases, defamation is predicated on damage to “good name and reputation.”

In the case of this RN, it’s assumed that all the things said or written about her was related to her occupation as an RN. Therefore, the law treats the sharing of knowledge as defamation per se and slander per se. The RN wouldn’t be required to prove damages because of this of the false statements. Rather damages are alleged and will include compensatory, special, punitive, and exemplary damages. It is unknown whether any of those possible options shall be or have been considered by the RN. One thing is of course – she, such as you, must seek legal advice and representation as soon as possible when false accusations are made against one other person and these accusations harm your good name and repute in your occupation.

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