Guilty
A jury on Friday convicted a former Nashville nurse of reckless homicide and impaired adult abuse after she was accused of inadvertently injecting a patient with a deadly dose of a paralyzing drug.
The jury deliberated for approximately four hours in a trial closely watched by nurses and medical professionals from across the country, many worried that the case could set a precedent for medical errors leading to criminal charges.
RaDonda Vaught, 38, was indicted in 2019 on two charges – reckless homicide and impaired adult abuse – in the death of Charlene Murphey at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Murphey, 75, died on Dec. 27, 2017, after being injected with the wrong drug.
Murphey was supposed to receive a dose of Versed, a sedative, but was instead injected with vecuronium, which left her unable to breathe, prosecutors have said.
“RaDonda Vaught probably did not intend to kill Ms. Murphey, but she made a knowing choice," Assistant District Attorney Brittani Flatt said Thursday during the state's closing arguments.
"Made a 'knowing' choice?"
No, she made a horrible error.
"This wasn’t an accident or mistake as it’s been claimed. There were multiple chances for RaDonda Vaught to just pay attention," Assistant District Attorney Chad Jackson said in a rebuttal during closing arguments.
Yes, as I've said: read the f'ing label.