![]() ![]() And experts say prosecutions like Vaught's loom large for a profession terrified of the criminalization of such mistakes - especially because her case hinges on an automated system for dispensing drugs that many nurses use every day. Fatal errors are generally handled by licensing boards and civil courts. Prosecutors do not allege in their court filings that Vaught intended to hurt Murphey or was impaired by any substance when she made the mistake, so her prosecution is a rare example of a health care worker facing years in prison for a medical error. If convicted of reckless homicide, Vaught faces up to 12 years in prison. If Vaught's story had followed the path of most medical errors, it would have been over hours later, when the Tennessee Board of Nursing revoked her license and almost certainly ended her nursing career.īut Vaught's case is different: This week, she goes on trial in Nashville on criminal charges of reckless homicide and felony abuse of an impaired adult for the killing of Charlene Murphey, the 75-year-old patient who died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in late December 2017. Shots - Health News Former nurse found guilty in accidental injection death of 75-year-old patient "There won't ever be a day that goes by that I don't think about what I did." "I know the reason this patient is no longer here is because of me," Vaught said, starting to cry. ![]() She did not shirk responsibility for the error, but she said the blame was not hers alone. Vaught, 38, admitted her mistake at a Tennessee Board of Nursing hearing last year, saying she became "complacent" in her job and "distracted" by a trainee while operating the computerized medication cabinet. But Vaught accidentally grabbed vecuronium, a powerful paralyzer, which stopped the patient's breathing and left her brain-dead before the error was discovered. The patient was supposed to get Versed, a sedative intended to calm her before being scanned in a large, MRI-like machine. ![]() RaDonda Vaught, with her attorney, Peter Strianse, is charged with reckless homicide and felony abuse of an impaired adult after a medication error killed a patient.įour years ago, inside the most prestigious hospital in Tennessee, nurse RaDonda Vaught withdrew a vial from an electronic medication cabinet, administered the drug to a patient and somehow overlooked signs of a terrible and deadly mistake. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |