Burnett v. Department of Health & Human Resources

425 So. 2d 245
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 21, 1982
DocketNos. 82 CA 0359, 82 CA 0360
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 425 So. 2d 245 (Burnett v. Department of Health & Human Resources) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Burnett v. Department of Health & Human Resources, 425 So. 2d 245 (La. Ct. App. 1982).

Opinion

WATKINS, Judge.

Mrs. Adell Burnett, a Licensed Practical Nurse employed at E.A. Conway Memorial Hospital, Monroe, was suspended from employment at Conway and subsequently terminated because of alleged gross negligence in the treatment of a patient, Mrs. Luebirta Jones, which resulted in that patient’s death. Mrs. Burnett appealed to the Civil Service Commission. An appeal was taken by Mrs. Burnett from the suspension and subsequently from the termination, and while these two proceedings are contained in separate records, they were consolidated for the purposes of hearing before the Civil Service Commission and appeal to this court. The Civil Service Commission affirmed both the suspension and the termination. We affirm the determination of the Civil Service Commission.

There is no dispute as to the facts. The facts leading up to the suspension and termination are well set forth in the letter of termination, which counsel for Mrs. Burnett admitted accurately sets forth the facts (although he refused to concur in the inference of negligence drawn by the appointing authority therefrom). We quote from the termination letter dated November 20, 1980, in full:

“This letter is to advise you that you are being terminated from your position as Licensed Practical Nurse at E.A. Conway Memorial Hospital pursuant to authority contained in Civil Service Rule 12.3. The effective date of this termination is seven days from the date this [247]*247letter was mailed, which date of mailing is the same as the date of this letter, or your actual receipt of the letter, whichever comes first.
The reasons for your termination are that you failed to meet the standards to which you must be held as a Licensed Practical Nurse in the following particulars:
I. In your required supervision of the nursing care of Mrs. Luebirta Jones on August 27,1980 at E.A. Conway Memorial Hospital, particularly the tube feeding of Mrs. Jones, you failed to notice that Mrs. Jones was receiving acetone or another foreign poisonous substance, through her feeding tube on that date.
II. Your failure on August 27,1980 to read the label on both the bottle that contained, or had contained, the substance being tube fed to Mrs. Jones when you removed that bottle from Mrs. Jones’ bedside tube-feeding system at approximately 5:00 p.m. on that date and on the bottle that you placed back into Mrs. Jones’ tube feeding system shortly after your aforementioned removal of a bottle from that system.
III. Your failure on August 27, 1980 at approximately 5:00 p.m. to ascertain the true content of one or both of the bottles referred to in Paragraph II immediately above.
IV. Your failure on August 27, 1980 at approximately 5:00 p.m. to notice an odor emanating from one or both of the bottles referred to in Paragraph II immediately above and to recognize that odor as not being consistent with the contents of the bottle or bottles required by Mrs. Jones’ doctor’s orders, or, alternatively, your failure on that date at that time to recognize the odor emanating from one or both of those bottles as not being consistent with the contents of those bottles as required by Mrs. Jones’ doctor’s orders.
V. Your failure on August 27, 1980 to follow the orders of Mrs. Luebirta Jones’ doctor, which order had been on Mrs. Jones’ chart since on or about August 21, 1980, requiring the tube feeding of Isocal at full strength in that you caused the tube fed Isocal to be diluted by approximately one-half on that date at approximately 5:00 p.m.
VI. Your violation of hospital policy and sound nursing practice and procedure in directing your subordinate, Gwen Rogers, Nurses Aide, to hang for use without supervision Mrs. Loubertia (sic) Jones’ tube feeding bottle on August 27, 1980, at approximately 5:00 p.m. at E.A. Conway Memorial Hospital.
VII. Your violation of hospital policy and sound nursing practice and procedure in allowing your daughter and one of her friends to visit you while you were on duty at E.A. Conway Memorial Hospital on August 27, 1980, between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.
You may appeal this action to the Civil Service Commission within 30 days. The appeal must conform to the provisions of Chapter 13 of the Civil Service Rules.
Sincerely, /s/ Roy D. Bostick Administrator”

As counsel for Mrs. Burnett has conceded the facts as stated in the letter of termination are correct, we find the conclusion inescapable that Mrs. Burnett was guilty of gross negligence in permitting a poisonous substance to be administered to a patient entrusted to her care. To permit her continued employment at the hospital would be to endanger the lives of present and future patients at that hospital.

In argument before this court, Mrs. Burnett does not contest the facts. Her defenses are twofold, (1) that the letters of suspension and termination did not precisely set forth the nature, time, and date of the alleged improper conduct, thus denying her the opportunity to prepare an adequate defense; and (2) that she was denied procedural due process under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution because she was not given a pre-sus-pension and pre-termination hearing.

[248]*248As we stated in Major v. Louisiana Department of Highways, 333 So.2d 316 (La.App. 1st Cir.1976), under Civil Service Commission rules and due process requirements, an employee of the state against whom disciplinary action is taken in the form of removal, demotion, or reduction in pay must be informed of the nature of the charges against him so that he can rebut the charges in the event, on appeal to the Civil Service Commission, the appointing authority makes out a prima facie case against him. Times, dates, and names must be so set forth in detail in the letter of notification.

It is evident from mere cursory perusal that the letter of termination addressed to Mrs. Burnett fully informed her of all alleged negligent acts, dates, times, and persons. Thus, that letter met the requirements of a letter of dismissal as set forth by us in Major.

The letter of suspension dated August 28, 1980, is somewhat less detailed. It reads as follows:

“Pursuant to the authority contained in Civil Service Rule 12.2 you are hereby suspended from your position as Licensed Practical Nurse without pay, effective immediately pending an investigation into allegations against you. These allegations include, but are not limited to a preliminary investigation into the death of patient # 433-46-5165 on August 27, 1980. The investigation conducted by the Director of Nurses which included a personal interview with you has revealed unacceptable departures from nursing standards relating to the preparation and administration of a tube feeding given to this patient on August 27, 1980. It has further been determined that you were the nurse responsible for the tube feeding in question.
You are hereby expressly advised that there may be additional allegations, charges, and/or disciplinary actions brought against you as a result of the continuing and extensive investigation being conducted by the Office of Hospitals, E.A. Conway Memorial Hospital.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Johnette Martin v. Department of Revenue
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2019
Plaisance v. City of Lafayette
651 So. 2d 414 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1995)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
425 So. 2d 245, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/burnett-v-department-of-health-human-resources-lactapp-1982.