A former nurse was found guilty of medication error death

Vaught took the wrong medication in her hand

A Tennessee jury found Friday that a former nurse committed criminally negligent homicide when she accidentally gave the wrong medication to a patient. In a case that came to the attention of nurses' organizations and patient safety advocates, she was convicted of gross neglect of an impaired adult.

A negligible homicide which leads to death

The 37-year-old RaDonda Vaught, instead of injecting Versed, induced coma in 95-year-old Charlene Murphey by injecting the paralyzing drug Vecuronium. Criminally negligent homicide, which was a lesser count included in the original charge of reckless homicide, was found not guilty by the jury.

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Argumentation by the attorney for Vaught

Her attorney argued that while Vaught was making several mistakes that day, the nurse was acting within the norm. At least part of the error was due to systemic problems at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Local nurses continually approached Vaught in the courthouse hallway as she awaited the verdict on Friday morning. She was calm after the verdict was read. However, many of the nurses were in tears.

An unimaginable mistake by the former nurse

"I hope that our families are relieved as well. Leaving behind your burden is not an option for someone whose actions have such an impact on a family and a life. Ms. Murphey's family is at the forefront of my thought’s day in and day out," said Vaught after the verdict. The 30-year-old was admitted two days after suffering a brain bleed to the neurological intensive care unit. After determining the bleed cause, doctors ordered a PET scan to check for cancer.

Overriding the prescribed medications

According to testimony, Vaught had difficulties finding Versed in a dispensing cabinet, so she used an override to grab vecuronium instead because Murphey was claustrophobic and was prescribed Versed for her anxiety. Donna Jones, the nurse legal consultant, said besides mistaking the medicine, she had missed the red warning label on the medication and had not stayed with the patient to check for an adverse reaction.