Reckless Homicide Case May Lead to Future Nursing Prosecutions
While such fatal nursing errors are generally handled by licensing boards and civil courts, RaDonda Vaught's prosecution in Tennesee is a rare example of a health care worker facing up to 12 years in prison for a medical error in dispensing certain medications.
Landwebs
The case of Tennessee nurse RaDonda Vaught, who faces criminal charges of reckless homicide and felony abuse of an impaired adult for the killing of 75-year-old Charlene Murphey after she accidentally administered the wrong drug to her. This has raised concerns among nurses nationwide who worry a conviction may set a precedent for the criminalization of such mistakes that are common in an industry of long hours, crowded hospitals, imperfect protocols, and complacency in a job with daily life-or-death stakes, reports NPR.
Vaught’s case hinges on an automated system for dispensing drugs that many nurses use every day, and while such fatal errors are generally handled by licensing boards and civil courts, her prosecution is a rare example of a health care worker facing up to 12 years in prison for a medical error. Prosecutors will argue that Vaught’s error was anything but a common mistake and that she ignored at least 5 warnings or pop-ups from the computerized device. The warnings would have said that she was withdrawing a paralyzing medication (vecuronium) instead of the sedative (Versed) that she needed. Vaught also did not recognize that Versed is a liquid but vecuronium is a powder that must be mixed into a liquid. The DA’s office points to this action as central to Vaught’s reckless homicide charge, but she and other nurses say overrides are a normal operating procedure used daily at hospitals.
