Nurse license revokation

Good day. I would like to ask for a legal advice. I am a nurse. One day., there is a 90 year old male patient admitted in our hospital. He was complaining of severe calf muscle pain. The first action was to give him pain killer. After about 5 mins., the relative came to the nurse station saying the pain persists. The doctor ordered for hot compress. I put the hot compress to the calf muscle of the patient. The patient was well adviced to remove it after 15 minutes but after about 30 minites., my co-nurse told me that i burned the patient. They were discharged a day after. Fast forward, after a week., the patient was again admitted on the hospital for the treatment of the burn wound.. They demanded that the hospital should pay the bills.. The hospital then charged to me all the bills. He was discharged after 3 days. Since then, everyday, the wound is cleaned on the hospital. I am shouldering the gauze and the saline solution being used everyday. I also take care of the professional fees of the doctor every week for check up.. My questions are:
Can i still be sued even if im taking care of the expenses?.. Last week, a relative threatened me saying they will sue me if in case the patient and/or the relatives get tired of the situation (going to hospital everyday for cleaning of wound) the wound is still in the process of healing.

Can my license still be revoked if in case they sue me?.

There is no written agreement. They just demanded that the hospital should pay the bills., in which., the hospital charged me all the bills.

Thank you for your response sir/maam!

First of all, I would like to ask some questions regarding your situation:

1. Did you admit to your negligence in handling the patient? Can a hot compress REALLY induce 1st-2nd degree burns, and how hot was the water inside the hot compress you applied to the patient?

2. Was there any administrative investigation done by the hospital admin to check the situation you are in? If yes, what was the result? Did the hospital immediately agree to the demands of the patient, without consulting you on the matter?

3. How long have you been paying the expenses of the patient? Have you already sought legal advice from a lawyer regarding your situation?

They say it's my fault.. The hospital said though the patient is well instructed., still., i should have waited for a relative to come before i leave or i shouldve stayed knowing that the patient is 90 years old and having severe calf muscle pain. The water came from electric kettle.. It was a rubber hot compress.. I did covered it with cloth before putting it to the calf muscle of the patient.

The medical director agreed at once on the relatives' demand that the hospital should pay the bills.. They asked me to write an incident report.. And then the hospital told me that i will be the one paying the bill. The incident happened last january 27, 2016.. He was first hospitalized on february 6, 2016, with debridement (the procedure where dead cells are removed in operating room) since then., im taking care of the bills..

No., i havent sought any legal advice from a lawyer regarding my situation. I thought that everything was fine. I am afraid that my license would be revoked so i just pay the bills. But last week., a relative came in the hospital, talked to me and told me that if in case the patient and/or the relatives got tired of the situation., they'll sue me.. That's why im asking for an advice. Can they still sue me even if i obliged to their demands of paying the bills?.

Thank you.

And also., the relatives asked me to admit that it's my fault (during the night when she talked to me). And out of fear and so many emotions (she told me many times that it's my fault., that they are in fact kind that they are not (yet) sueing me) i admit in front of them that it's my fault.. Though deep inside me., i just did what was ordered to me by the doctor.. And that my intention was to relieve the pain and not to hurt the patient. The patient got deep second degree burn.. They had it checked by another surgeon from another hospital and they told them that it is 3d degree burn (but that was after the procedure of removing dead cells).

Thank you so much for the response..

This is indeed an unfortunate story, but it is not without hope.

I see no legal reason as to how they will file a case against you since you are already taking care of the hospital bills of the patient that you have inadvertently harmed. In effect, there was already a compromise between the hospital (representing you as their employee) and the patient, with you to take care of the hospital bills of the patient. What you have to do is to request the hospital to put such agreement into writing and put an additional stipulation that such compromise agreement waives the patient's right to sue both the hospital and the nurse, so that they cannot further sue you or the hospital.

Alternatively, you may want to go to the nearest city/municipal hall and find out where the Public Attorney's Office is. They usually give free legal advice and provide free legal representation in case there will be litigation between you and the patient. You may relay to them your concerns and also bring all the necessary documents (charts, agreements, memos, employment contract, etc) that may be helpful to your case.

I hope this helps. Good luck in your situation, and I hope that all parties will be given equitable justice...