A hospital had the right to fire a male nurse for having consensual sex with a patient less than two days after she underwent heart surgery, a state appeals court ruled. A three-judge Commonwealth Court panel unanimously overturned an arbitrator’s decision to reinstate the nurse. The woman had double-bypass surgery at Temple University on July 13, 2006, and had sex with registered nurse Richard J. Baldwin sometime around 4 a.m. on July 15, according to the opinion. The matter came to light a few days later, when the woman asked a doctor to determine if the unprotected sex had resulted in any sexually transmitted diseases. Hospital investigators said the patient indicated that she was attracted to Baldwin and that the medications she was taking had nothing to do with what happened.
Please click on the link below to read the Philadelphia Inquirer article:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20080808_Hospital_wins_appeal__OK_to_fire_nurse_for_sex.html
For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.
