Neglect of Patient: Certified Nursing Assistant Can Be Fired For Misconduct
Legal Eagle Eye Newsletter for the Nursing Profession
July 1997
Quick Summary: It is misconduct justifying termination for an aide to leave a female nursing home resident unattended in bed for two hours, with her lower body uncovered and completely exposed and her catheter bag lying flat on the bed so that urine cannot not flow freely or drain, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division has ruled. The nursing home resident was still partially clad in her daytime clothing and her shoes were still on in bed.
The aide had already been reprimanded at least once for violating the nursing home’s standards for attending to patients’ care needs, and had been warned that any further neglect could result in termination. He admitted this resident was his to care for on this shift.
Matter of Miller, 651 N.Y.S. 2d 244 (N.Y. App., 1996).