Radonda Vaught Sentenced

Hundreds of nurses are waiting outside the courthouse in support of Radonda Vaught.  She will be labeled as a convicted felon for the rest of her life.  Nurses General Nursing News

Updated:   Published

The sentencing is scheduled for Friday, 9:00 AM Central Time. 

Vaught is set to be sentenced on her convictions in Davidson County Criminal Court on Friday by Judge Jennifer Smith. 

What do you think the sentencing will/should be?  Do you think she should receive jail time?

Quote

"Her charges carry possible penalties of up to eight years in prison. The neglect charge could include from three to six years, the homicide one to two years incarceration. 

Smith will set the sentence, bound by guidelines in state law, and will decide whether it includes jail time and whether the sentences run concurrently or consecutively."

RaDonda Vaught sentencing: 5 things to know

For live coverage, go to:

UPDATE

The Judge announced the sentence:

Judicial Diversion and Supervised probation for 3 years.  Will reassess after completion of probationary period.

No prison time.

Judicial Diversion

"Judicial Diversion in TN is a method by which many first-time offenders can have the opportunity to ultimately have their conviction dismissed following a successful probationary period, thereby preserving a clean record and giving them the opportunity to have it expunged, or completely removed, from their criminal history."

8 minutes ago, feelix said:

Everyone who can owns a gun in the South.

That's the point. As a convicted felon she can't. Lying to the federal government is sorta stupid. 

Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
14 hours ago, Tweety said:

I think perhaps being found guilty and convicted of the crime, never being able to practice nursing ever again without jail time is enough.  

Vanderbilt settled out of court, so they didn't necessarily get away with anything.  But by settling out of court with the victims family they avoided the ugliness that RV had to go through.  She didn't have that option.  

She didn't have that option because her actions and negligent practice were directly responsible for the death, not hospital policy or staffing. 

On 5/13/2022 at 6:19 PM, ThePrincessBride said:

But that was a risk with charging her in the first place. And now she has a criminal record. 

She can get the charges dropped after completing her probation (deferred adjudication) and then can apply to get the charges expunged. This potentially means no criminal record. Due to the conviction and neglegence she is a prime candidate for a civil lawsuit by surviving family members. She should not get her license back, though.

Specializes in ER.
22 minutes ago, feelix said:

You seem to know her intimately to be making judgments about her temperament. Everyone who can owns a gun in the South.

I'm a complete supporter of gun rights and I have a permit to carry a concealed pistol. What I'm not in favor of is the fact that she tried to obtain a high-powered rifle,  under fraudulent circumstances, during a time of her life when she is probably emotionally unstable due to this situation.

1 hour ago, Wuzzie said:

That's the point. As a convicted felon she can't. Lying to the federal government is sorta stupid. 

She was not convicted before today.

 

2 minutes ago, feelix said:

She was not convicted before today.

 

Uh , yes she was. The last hearing was a sentencing hearing. 

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
1 hour ago, toomuchbaloney said:

She didn't have that option because her actions and negligent practice were directly responsible for the death, not hospital policy or staffing. 

Absolutely but they settled knowing there was a case against them and they didn't want that publicity.  I was addressing the idea in several posts in this thread that they got away with something.   They didn't, they just didn't have to go to court for it and settled.  

Why is nobody talking about how the system failed by not identifying like sound, like name medications. Why was there no requirement for double checking, two nurse sign off, or any other way this error could have been prevented.

1 minute ago, feelix said:

Why is nobody talking about how the system failed by not identifying like sound, like name medications. Why was there no requirement for double checking, two nurse sign off, or any other way this error could have been prevented.

She blew through 11 warnings. 11. Do you really think 12 warnings would have been the ticket? 

Also, do you read the name on the medication vial before drawing it up? RV somehow managed to miss that option.

Specializes in ER.
30 minutes ago, feelix said:

Why is nobody talking about how the system failed by not identifying like sound, like name medications. Why was there no requirement for double checking, two nurse sign off, or any other way this error could have been prevented.

In my opinion, the sensory overload of too many warnings leads to errors. People get used to blowing through things because many of the warnings are trivial and inconsequential. Just like with alarm fatigue, if the system stimulates the brain too much with flashing warnings, it can cause people to ignore them.

What I've described may certainly have been a contributing factor. But the fact that she didn't take the final step of actually reading the label on the vial, and making sure she knew what was in it, is what caused this catastrophe.

Specializes in BSN, RN, CVRN-BC.
On 5/13/2022 at 10:51 PM, ThePrincessBride said:

She most likely would have never gotten her licensed reinstated after that error.

Charging her did more harm than good. Now more healthcare workers are going to be less likely to report errors for fear of ending up like her.

It is rather hard to avoid reporting when you paralyze your non-mechanically ventilated patient. 

Perhaps hospitals will take this as an example of what can happen when a bad EMR meets an inattentive staff member, meets bad situation. 

Most sentinel events are the product of a series of failures, not just one bad decision.  This is why root cause analysis focuses on the totality of the situation rather than the individual.  The bottom line is that she royally screwed up and has been punished for it.  What did Medical Center do to fix the situation (their system) so that this never happens again?

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
1 hour ago, Robmoo said:

What did Vanderbilt University Medical Center do to fix the situation (their system) so that this never happens again?

https://hospitalwatchdog.org/vanderbilts-role-in-the-death-of-patient-charlene-murphey/

Key points:

  1. vecuronium is no longer available as an override drug
  2. radiology has implemented barcode scanning
  3. 2nd nurse verification in radiology

Full 330 page plan of correction: https://hospitalwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/VUMC-PLAN-OF-CORRECTION.pdf