Vaught was accused of administering a patient a fatal dose of the wrong medication. JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) In a letter penned to employees, Ballad Health CEO Alan Levine shared his personal impressions of the negligent homicide conviction of ex-Vanderbilt-nurse Radonda Vaught and what Ballad is doing to prevent medical mistakes like the one that killed 75-year-old Charlene Murphey in 2017. "Ms. Murphey's family is at the forefront of my thoughts every day," she said. But nurses in the gallery clearly disagreed. A jury found the former nurse on trial for the death of a patient due to a drug mix-up guilty of criminally negligent homicide. In order to retrieve a drug on Ballads list of High Alert I ON CARE substances, which are posted in each nursing unit, Levine said Ballad staff follow these protocols: I am not an expert on the criminal case that was presented in Nashville, although I have been following it, Levine said. RaDonda Vaught probably did not intend to kill Miss Murphey, but she made a knowing choice," Assistant District Attorney Brittani Flatt said Thursday during the state's closing arguments. Even the Tennessee Department of Health determined VUMC carried a heavy burden of responsibility in the case, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations agent who testified. Remember why you decided you wanted to go to school to be a nurse. Elkins was arrested on Thursday in Miami and made her initial appearance in Miami on Friday afternoon. Who is going to replace them?" Former Vanderbilt nurse found guilty of criminally negligent homicide Reach reporter Mariah Timms at mtimms@tennessean.com or 615-259-8344 and on Twitter @MariahTimms. A jury found former Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught guilty of the lesser charge, criminally negligent homicide; however, she was not found guilty of reckless homicide, which is a more serious charge than the one she was convicted of. Nurse RaDonda Vaught Convicted of Homicide? The cases outcome has been met with mixed public reaction, and the Tennessee Nurses Association released a statement after the verdict expressing concern that criminally prosecuting certain accidental medical errors could keep nurses from reporting mistakes in the future. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Nurse Convicted of Neglect and Negligent Homicide for Fatal Drug Error Nosotros, Yahoo, somos parte de la familia de marcas de Yahoo. It was about gross neglect of a patient," said assistant district attorney Chad Jackson. Vaught will be sentenced by the judge in May and could get probation or up to three years in prison. They try to do the best for their patients every single day, said Carla Kirkland, the past president for the Tennessee Nurses Association. RaDonda Vaught Sentenced To 3 Years Supervised Probation Vaught, 39, was found guilty last week in the 2017 death of Charlene Murphy. In actuality, I believe she was guilty of what she had done. 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. Nurse Vaught is assigned to her care to take her down to the scanner so that she can get her scan. An outlier so egregious, they had a duty to prosecute the case. She said that because Vaught owned up to the mistake, Murphey's death "has probably saved lives.". Yelena Dzhanova RaDonda Vaught, a former Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse charged with in the death of a patient, listens to the opening statements during her trial at Justice A.A. Birch Building in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 22, 2022. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Dallas Field Office, the Carrollton Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives' Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Does this mean a nurse cannot be disciplined for negligent behavior? They traveled from across the state and the country, and said they wanted to both support Vaught and make clear their worry over the fallout of the case. 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. They were quietly animated in the courtroom gallery. ", Assistant District Attorney Brittani Flatt quoted from her interview with a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent in closing arguments: "I definitely should have paid more attention. Prosecutors had charged RaDonda Vaught with reckless homicide, which carries more potential jail time. "This case wasn't about simple professional negligence. Guilty verdict for former nurse in death of woman accidentally given On Thursday, the victim took the stand to identify herself in surveillance footage and graphic images the men took during the alleged assault, the Tennessean reported. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. That verdict and the fact that Vaught was charged at all worries patient safety and nursing groups that have worked for years to move hospital culture away from cover-ups, blame and punishment, and toward the honest reporting of mistakes. A jury convicted former nurse RaDonda Vaught of criminally negligent homicide and abuse of an impaired adult after the death of a patient in 2017 Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Former Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught was indicted in 2019 on two charges, reckless homicide and impaired adult abuse, in the death of a patient. RaDonda Vaught: Ex-Vanderbilt nurse shares thoughts on case "She came in innocent and she will leave innocent, no matter what the jury says," Ray said Friday morning before the verdict was read. Each hugged the three prosecutors before they exited the courtroom. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) A former Vanderbilt nurse was found guilty Friday on two counts, including criminally negligent homicide. Its hard to know that you have done something that has impacted an entire family and impacted a life in the manor and not carry that burden with you, Vaught added. Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Jennifer Smith heard the case. According to the indictment Beard then called police using a fake name and reported that Burkett was selling drugs to men at the apartment complex where she worked, providing the license plate number on the photo Elkins sent. To make the case, prosecutors listed seventeen mistakes made by Vaught in the care of the patient. Testifying before the. Charlene Murphey, of Gallatin, was waiting for a standard scan at Vanderbilt Medical Center in 2017 when she was killed by a fatal dose of the wrong medication. Former nurse guilty of homicide in medication error death In March she was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and gross. Prosecutors had charged RaDonda Vaught with reckless homicide, which carries more potential jail time. RaDonda Vaught trial: Jury deliberates in former Vanderbilt nurse case A jury found the former nurse on trial for the death of a patient due to a drug mix-up guilty of criminally negligent homicide. Id like to share my thoughts with you, and perhaps give you some encouragement.. "Health care delivery is highly complex. Three more former football players who allegedly destroyed evidence following the assault also face criminal charges, of tampering with evidence. "If you think RaDonda Vaught is criminally negligent, you just don't know how health care works," Lambert said. Vaught was steeped in the idea of Just Culture and says she has "zero regrets" about telling the truth, but her candor was used against her at trial. It's a calling that she has reluctantly stepped away from after a jury found former Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught guilty on two counts, including criminally negligent homicide for a fatal. I don't care what Chad Jackson says.". . The Davidson County District Attorneys Office categorically rejects that narrative. Jurors deliberated for four hours on Friday before reaching the verdict. "Even if errors are reported, effective event investigation and learning cannot occur in a culture of fear or blame.". Murphey was claustrophobic and was prescribed Versed for her anxiety, according to testimony. A sentiment Vaught echoed. Because vecuronium should only be used on patients who have a breathing tube inserted, some hospitals have moved it and other paralytic drugs out of automatic dispensing cabinets. Petition gains over 100K signatures in support of former Vanderbilt nurse, Tennessee can enforce ban on transgender care for minors, court says, Public File: publicfile@wsmv.com - 615-353-2260. Vaught was fired from the Vanderbilt medical center following the incident, and the Tennessee Board of Nursing unanimously voted to revoke her nursing license in 2021. A jury found former Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught guilty of the lesser charge, criminally negligent homicide; however, she was not found guilty of reckless homicide, which is a more serious. "I hope that they (Murphey's family) are also just as relieved to be moving away from this process that has been held up in the legal system for four and a half years. Levine compared the case to the legal proceedings following plane crashes, saying that while many investigations focus on the systemic issues that allowed the accident to occur, truly negligent employees are not exempt from accountability. "This could be any of us.". All rights reserved. Murphey died the next day, on December 27, 2017. Also states she was too intoxicated to remember alleged assault, Defense for former football players to focus on victims alcohol consumption. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Cuando utilizas nuestros sitios y aplicaciones, usamos. On Thursday, Judge Jennifer Smith denied a motion of acquittal made by the defense. Vanderbilt was having trouble with the electronic cabinets that dispense medication, and nurses have said they were told to override the systems if they had to. "We want Davidson County to know that we, as the DA's office do not prosecute on lies, we prosecute on the facts. The RaDonda Vaught trial has begun. What can you do in the Tri-Cities this weekend? Copyright 2022 WSMV. And I know that overriding Omnicell is not unusual on a day-to-day basis. I hope that they are able to find peace with the resolution of this process.". ORIGINAL: NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) - A verdict will soon be read in the trial of RaDonda Vaught, the former Vanderbilt nurse accused of homicide after she administered a fatal dose of the wrong. Nurses are raging and quitting after RaDonda Vaught verdict : Shots NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - A former Vanderbilt nurse was found guilty Friday on two counts, including criminally negligent homicide. Murphey, 75, of Gallatin, Tennessee, was admitted to Vanderbilt for a brain injury. Vaught did not testify during the week-long trial. The District Attorneys office maintains that this case was about the facts. The jury found a series of decisions were made by Vaught to ignore her nursing training, and instead, failed to adhere to safety protocols that proved to be fatal. Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught's guilty verdict and 'Just Culture' Before the drug can be removed from the cabinet, a 2-step alert tells nurses that the particular NMB can cause paralysis and that the patient requires ventilation before use. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. July 7, 2023 / 6:45 PM / CBS Texas. Vaught's prosecution drew condemnation from nursing and medical organizations that said the case's dangerous precedent would worsen the nursing shortage and make nurses less forthcoming about mistakes. Asked about what message the case sends to other nurses after the verdict came down, prosecutors said the facts of the case only pertain to one nurse and one incident. Woman charged in Dallas Co. murder of former fiance's ex-girlfriend While Murphey's death may serve as a cautionary tale for other nurses, Vaught, now awaiting a sentence of up to eight years, told The Associated Press in an interview that she thinks about her patient every day. Stephanie Amador/The Tennessean via AP, Pool At Gray, our journalists report, write, edit and produce the news content that informs the communities we serve. Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Our, Best PS5 games on Amazon for your teenager, The best mens roller skates for exercise and leisure, Why you should never feed waterfowl bread, Iowa GOP schedules Jan. 15 for leadoff presidential, Gunman on scooter shoots randomly in NYC, police, Heres what to know about the Hunter Biden case, Zelenskyy hails Ukraines soldiers from a symbolic, A German county elected a far-right candidate for, The UN refuses to retract its condemnation of Israel. When the verdict was read, they were themselves largely still, showing no large reaction to the news. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way, Donate to the Salvation Army Red Kettle Challenge, The ban on gender-affirming care in Tennessee has been temporarily reinstated, this will have a chilling effect on nursing. A jury found former Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught guilty of criminally negligent homicide following accusations that she gave a 74-year-old patient a fatal dose of the wrong medication back in Dec. 2017. SILVER SPRING, MD-Today, a jury convicted former Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse RaDonda Vaught of criminally negligent homicide and impaired adult abuse after she mistakenly administered the wrong medication that killed a patient in 2017. The TikTok video depicts Vaught and the user visiting from Las Vegas, discussing the verdict. Multiple health care professionals were on the jury. On Dec. 26, 2017, Vaught was working at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and was supposed to give a 75-year-old patient from Gallatin the sedative Versed to calm her down before an imaging procedure. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) A Nashville jury found former Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught guilty on two charges in the 2017 death of 75-year-old Charlene Murphey. One nursing student told News4 that the profession is already facing a shortage and that this verdict could have a huge impact on the future of the nursing industry. The former fianc of a Rowlett man who shot and stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death in 2020 has been charged with helping to orchestrate the brutal slaying, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton. Vaught's defense argues that although Murphey's death is tragic and irreversible, the outsize consequence does not make Vaught's mistake a conscious, criminal act of homicide. Do it well. Former Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught found guilty on 2 charges in Now, they go down . Former Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught convicted of criminal negligent And there are very clear reasons why it needs to be overridden at times.. The jury found RaDonda Vaught, a former nurse, guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of a patient who was accidentally given the wrong medication. Ex-Vanderbilt nurse found guilty of a lesser charge in patient death case. Murphy was a patient at Nashville's Vanderbilt University Medical Center when Vaughn inadvertently injected Murphy. Ex-Vanderbilt nurse found guilty of 2 charges in 2017 death of patient This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Old Butlers legacy lives on decades after town flooded, Weekend Events: Festivals, concerts and more, Summer Wells father speaks out on 2-year anniversary, 2 years later: Timeline of the Search for Summer, Historians find 150-year-old mass grave in Jonesborough, BestReviews.com - Top gifts to make everyone happy this summer, Prime Day 2023: Here are the best early deals, These are the hidden gems of Prime Day 2023, Best early Prime Day deals for $100 or less, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Jury convicts former Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught of criminally