RaDonda Vaught, the US former nurse who was convicted on felony charges after fatally injecting a patient with an incorrect drug, was sentenced to probation last Friday (13 May) in a case that became a rallying cry for healthcare workers fearful that medical mistakes would be criminalised, reports The Washington Post.
Vaught, who worked at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, faced up to eight years in prison for giving 75-year-old Charlene Murphey a fatal dose of the wrong medication in December 2017.
Instead of giving Murphey a dose of the sedative Versed, Vaught injected her with the powerful muscle relaxant vecuronium, which left her unable to breathe. Vaught, 38, was convicted in March of criminally negligent homicide and gross neglect of an impaired adult.
Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Jennifer Smith ruled on Friday that Vaught would be granted a judicial diversion, meaning the conviction would be expunged from the records if she completed a three-year probation.
“Vaught is well aware of the seriousness of the offence,” Smith said, according to NPR, and had “credibly expressed remorse in this courtroom”. She added that the Murphey family had suffered a “terrible loss”.
“[Vaught had] no sustained intent to violate the law, is highly amenable to correction, has no criminal record, is removed from the healthcare setting, and she will never practice nursing again,” said Smith. “This situation will never be repeated by Ms. Vaught.”
Medscape reports that the judge also hoped her decision would have wider implications and that in the future, changes in medical policies, including how medications are stored, “will mitigate this from ever happening again”.
The Davidson County district attorney’s office, which did not advocate for any particular sentence or oppose probation, has described Vaught’s case as an indictment of one careless nurse, not the entire nursing profession.
Prosecutors had argued in trial that Vaught overlooked multiple warning signs when she grabbed the wrong drug, including failing to notice Versed is a liquid and vecuronium is a powder. They added that she circumvented safeguards by switching the hospital’s computerised medication cabinet into “override” mode, which made it possible to withdraw medications not prescribed to Murphey, including vecuronium. Other nurses and nursing experts said overrides are routinely used in many hospitals to access medication quickly.
NPR reports that Vaught admitted her error after the mix-up was discovered, and her defence largely focused on arguments that an honest mistake should not constitute a crime.
The defence had argued for probation and the prosecution suggested three to six years, but left the time in custody up to the judge.
The trial included testimony from several nurse witnesses who painted Vaughn as a caring, compassionate nurse who went above and beyond for her patients — and who quickly admitted her responsibility in the medical error that led to Murphey’s death.
During the hearing, Vaught said she was forever changed by Murphey’s death and was “open and honest” about her error in an effort to prevent future mistakes by other nurses. Vaught also said there was no public interest in sentencing her to prison because she could not possibly re-offend after her nursing license was revoked.
Vaught’s prosecution drew condemnation from nursing and medical organisations that said the case’s dangerous precedent would worsen the nursing shortage and make nurses less forthcoming about mistakes.
Medscape article – RaDonda Vaught Sentenced to Probation for Patient Death (Open access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Medical error and ‘chilling’ conviction of US nurse for criminally negligent homicide
Criminal conviction for injection death causes consternation in US nursing profession
Nurse faces 8 years in jail following criminal prosecution over fatal injection
US nurse on trial for reckless homicide over administration of deadly drug