A former Tennessee nurse has been found guilty of manslaughter by negligence in the death of a patient who accidentally received medication, a jury found Friday. He was also found guilty of grossly neglecting an adult with a disability in a case that has caught the attention of patient safety advocates and nursing organizations across the country. RaDonda Vaught, 37, injected paralytic vecuronium into 75-year-old Charlene Murphey instead of the sedative Versed on December 26, 2017. Vaught freely admitted that she made many mistakes with the drug that day, but her defense attorney argued that the nurse was that he was not acting outside the norm and that systemic problems at Vanderbilt University Medical Center were at least partly to blame for the error. Shots fired at COLORADO MALL LEAVE 2 dead, 2 injured: REPORT The court found Vaught not guilty of manslaughter. Homicide by criminal negligence was a smaller charge included in the original charge. As Vaught awaited the verdict on Friday morning, she was constantly approached by local nurses who had come to court to support her. Vaught was calm after reading the verdict, but several of the nurses who surrounded her in the corridor of the court cried. In an interview after the verdict, Vaught said she was relieved to have a solution after 4 1/2 years and hoped Murphey’s family would be relieved as well. A former Tennessee nurse is guilty of manslaughter for the death of a patient who was mistakenly given medication (Tennessee Research Bureau) “Mrs. Murphy’s family is at the forefront of my thoughts every day,” he said. “You do not do something that affects a family like this, that affects a life and you do not carry that burden with you.” Murphy was admitted to the intensive care unit on December 24, 2017, after a cerebral hemorrhage. Two days later, doctors trying to determine the cause of the bleeding ordered a PET scan to check for cancer. Murphy was claustrophobic and was prescribed Versed for her anxiety, according to a testimony. When Vaught could not find Versed in an automatic drug cabinet, she used a detour and accidentally snatched vecuronium. SUSAN SMITH, MOTHER WHO KILLED TWO SONS IN 1994, SENDS ROMANTIC LETTERS TO THE MARKET FROM PRISON: REPORT A state witness said Vaught violated the standard of care expected of the nurses. In addition to grabbing the wrong drug, he failed to read the name of the drug, did not notice a red warning on the top of the drug and did not stay with the patient to check for side effects, said legal counsel Nurse Donna Jones. . Leanna Craft, a nurse instructor at Vaught’s neuro-ICU unit, testified that it was common for nurses at the time to bypass the system to get medication. The hospital had recently updated an electronic records system, which has led to delays in retrieving drugs from automated medicine cabinets. There was also no scanner in the imaging area for Vaught to scan the drug with the patient’s bracelet. RaDonda Vaught and her lawyer Peter Strianse listen as verdicts are read at the end of her trial in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, March 25, 2022. (Nicole Hester / The Tennessean via AP, Pool) Assistant Attorney General Chadwick Jackson told the jury in closing remarks: “RaDonda Vaught acted recklessly and Charlene Murphey died as a result. RaDonda Vaught had a duty to care for Charlene Murphey and RaDonda Vaught neglected it. the case is that Charlene Murphey is dead because RaDonda Vaught could not care what she did. “ Vaught said she was concerned the verdict would cause other providers “to be cautious about coming forward to tell the truth. I do not think the solution to that is not to be honest and sincere.” Patient safety expert Bruce Lambert, in an interview before the verdict, said it was extremely worrying that Vaught was being prosecuted for medical malpractice. New York Elderly THE DEATH TIMETABLE RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SUSPECTIST’S FAMILY “This will not only prevent nurses and doctors from reporting medication errors, but it will force nurses to leave the profession,” said Lambert, director of the Center for Communication and Health at Northwestern University. Vaught said she did not regret honestly admitting her mistake. He felt like a scapegoat when Vanderbilt was the subject of a surprise inspection by the Medicare and Medicaid Service Centers. “Someone has to pay a price, and it’s very easy to say ‘Just let her do it,’” he said. “Nurses see it. Doctors see it. Radiologists see it.” RaDonda Vaught arrives for a court hearing on February 20, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo / Mark Humphrey) Speaking about the verdict, the prosecutors said that this is not a case of creating a precedent that would lead to further criminalization of medical errors. “This is not a case against the nursing community,” said Assistant Attorney General Chadwick Jackson. “This is a case against one person.” Janie Harvey Garner, who founded the show support organization Show Me Your Stethoscope, disagreed. “What has happened here is that healthcare has changed completely,” Garner said in a telephone interview. “Now when we tell the truth we blame ourselves.” CLICK HERE TO RECEIVE THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION Garner, who helped raise money to defend Vaught, said ordinary people do not understand how difficult and stressful it can be to work as a nurse. He said mistakes are common and what happened to Vaught could have happened to anyone. “A jury of her peers would all be ICU nurses,” Garner said. Vaught’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 13. He faces three to six years in prison for a conviction for gross negligence and one to two years for a conviction for manslaughter. Vaught was released on bail and remains free until convicted. He said he had not considered whether to appeal.
