Radonda Vaught Trial

Hoosier_RN, MSN · Mar 30, 2022

Just now, Mommavik said:

From what I'm reading about this case, the nurse in question falsified the record to show that she checked on a patient's neurological and vital signs frequently as ordered after a patient fall when in fact she did not check on this patient at all! This shows that she knew that 1) it was important that this patient be checked frequently. 2) She apparently did not care that the patient died and could possibly have been saved if she had done the checks that she falsely claimed she had done. No excuses for this. Not something that any ethical and conscientious nurse could accept as something that would NOT require prosecution.

If she were the only nurse in the building with 50+ patients-some may be getting meds/treatments etc, and disappearing CNAs who add to the burden, I can see how it happened minus falsifying documents. Never falsify documents

klone, MSN, RN · Mar 30, 2022

If RV had pleaded to a lesser charge and gotten away with probation, there would be no furor from the general public. Lesson learned - not only should you always LOOK AT the medication before giving it, but if you kill someone by your carelessness, best to strike a plea deal.

allnurses Guide · Mar 30, 2022

15 hours ago, Rose_Queen said:

Another nurse who faced charges of involuntary manslaughter (pled to lesser charges) after a patient’s death. Where is the outcry and fears of this becoming commonplace?

Nurse pleads guilty in fatal fall of McMaster’s father

Completely different type of case as the nurse was charged with neglect or her duty and fraudulent charting which may have contributed to the death of her patient, He actions were in fact criminal and justice has been served.

hppy

Googlenurse, ASN, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2022

Does anyone know if Radonda had malpractice insurance?

I’m just wondering if the charges would have been reduced or if the case would have even made it this far?

Guests · Mar 30, 2022

1 hour ago, Googlenurse said:

Does anyone know if Radonda had malpractice insurance?

I’m just wondering if the charges would have been reduced or if the case would have even made it this far?

malpractice insurance doesn't protect you from criminal charges when you are negligent. Similar to how your home insurance doesn't protect you from arson charges if you burn your house down.

Susie2310 · Mar 30, 2022

17 hours ago, MunoRN said:

That the thing about medication errors, in most cases the harm can be at least mitigated, if not completely avoided so long as the person who made the error recognizes and informs the appropriate the people, something they are less likely to do if that automatically makes them guilty of reckless endangerment, which in some states is a felony and in addition to possible jail time also probably loss of license.

Lets say someone gives the metoprolol for the patient in bed 1 to the patient in bed 2. They realize their error but figure bed 2 has been running tachycardic and hypertensive anyway, so likely no harm done. Then the next day the patient in bed 1 spikes their BP and HR so they double the metoprolol dose, not knowing they missed yesterday's dose, and then various complications arise from that. That's an easily avoidable harm if the nurse isn't having to decide between what they may perceive as a low risk of harm and automatic criminal charges.

As I see it, if the nurse who does this fails to promptly inform both patients' physician/s of what happened and fails to follow proper procedures so that proper care can be instituted for both patients, the nurse has compounded their culpability and elevated a situation that, if dealt with promptly, could have minimized problems for both patients, and minimized liability for the nurse. The nurse's (in my view, misplaced fear) of facing criminal charges/reckless endangerment in a situation that, if dealt with timely, could have safeguarded both patients had the nurse taken appropriate actions promptly, has, in my view, increased liability for the nurse and increased the risk of harm for bed 2, and possibly resulted in actual harm as complications were experienced for bed 1.

Your example leads me to think that, in view of the verdict, more education is needed for some nurses on the different levels of negligence, and on prudent nursing actions to take to ensure patient safety when they make errors or poor judgments in care - prudent nursing actions that will also reduce the risk of criminal charges being filed against the nurse. I think this is something that facilities could institute, and/or it could be a requirement for renewing one's license.

I also think that, if some nurses/other health care workers are so affected by the verdict that they are unable to use critical thinking in caring for their patients or fail to report errors in care because they fear facing criminal charges for every error, that some kind of solution will be needed by facilities to assist those affected in providing safe care. However, the solution is not that nurses/health care workers should not face criminal charges if their actions merit criminal charges.

Mommavik, ADN · Mar 30, 2022

⁰I can see how not being able to check as often as she was supposed to happened. There were things she could have done to address this; at the least, having an aide check on him frequently and report back to her. For the problem of not having another nurse there; I would have had to report to my agency that this was an unsafe situation to be in; if I worked for an agency, arrived to find that I had this many patients that I was responsible for and I would be the only licensed nurse there??? No way! That is unsafe, and I would have called to let the agency know that. It does not mean I'm leaving the facility with no one licensed there; but the manager and nurse going off shift would definitely be made aware that I considered it unsafe and was unwilling to accept. If she had done this, maybe the facility would have had 2 nurses working and less chance of this patient not getting the care he needed. At the least, she would not have been the person responsible for not having done the care this patient needed. As for falsified charting, a big no no. No excuse for that type of charting. Filing in vital signs late (they were done, just not on chart) is OK in my opinion, but saying you did something you did not do is boot ever OK.

MunoRN, RN · Mar 30, 2022

21 hours ago, Wuzzie said:

That’s really beneath you Muno. I don’t think anybody is enjoying this including myself. I don’t have a torch or a pitchfork but I do have a desire to not be associated with or represented by the likes of Radonda Vaught. I stand with nurses like Alex Wubbels and the Katrina nurses. I stand with the nurses who do their jobs with integrity and attention to detail despite their circumstances.

19 hours ago, JKL33 said:

? Nope. I try to keep that sort of thing to a minimum in my life as it doesn't do anyone any good, especially the one who harbors the feeling.

Besides, if I'm gonna use energy delighting in others' misfortune you can be sure it'll involve the people who have been busy driving the healthcare train off the tracks. If any of them get their ability to be involved in healthcare taken away, yes, I will be delighted.

This isn't that, and you know it.

I'm open to why you disagree that this doesn't impair patient safety going forward. But if you're not even going to try to disprove the position of the Institute for Safe Medication Practice (ISMP) then I'm not sure what other possible explanations there are for your positions.

klone, MSN, RN · Mar 30, 2022

8 hours ago, toomuchbaloney said:

Malpractice insurance doesn't protect you from criminal charges when you are negligent. Similar to how your home insurance doesn't protect you from arson charges if you burn your house down.

irrelevent comment that I deleted

klone, MSN, RN · Mar 30, 2022

37 minutes ago, MunoRN said:

I'm open to why you disagree that this doesn't impair patient safety going forward. But if you're not even going to try to disprove the position of the Institute for Safe Medication Practice (ISMP) then I'm not sure what other possible explanations there are for your positions.

I think what they're disagreeing with is your assertion that they/we get joy/delight out of the verdict.

sistrmoon, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2022

35 minutes ago, MunoRN said:

But if you're not even going to try to disprove the position of the Institute for Safe Medication Practice (ISMP) then I'm not sure what other possible explanations there are for your positions.

I don’t disagree with any of the systems changes they suggest in the sidebar but the actual article read like an opinion piece glommed together with some of the weak arguments I keep seeing on facebook. But the family didn’t want her prosecuted! But she’s a victim of the system! She’s likeable and there are a bunch of gofundmes in her support! Well, now I’m convinced.

Their focus is on medication and systems safety. That is their expertise. I think they could have focused on that without wholesale support of someone who did not make a Med error, but exhibited negligent carelessness over and over, long after the Med was pulled from the ADC.

Wuzzie · Mar 30, 2022

49 minutes ago, MunoRN said:

I'm open to why you disagree that this doesn't impair patient safety going forward. But if you're not even going to try to disprove the position of the Institute for Safe Medication Practice (ISMP) then I'm not sure what other possible explanations there are for your positions.

Muno, I really hate when you do this and you’ve done it before. I never said I disagreed with anything to do with patient safety. I disagree with your characterization of me as a torch and pitchfork bearing villager out for blood and I disagree that any system bears more responsibility for RV’s actions than she does. I like discussing things with you but I do not like when you put words in my mouth and resort to straw man arguments as a means to discredit my viewpoint. No matter how many safety measures we put in place someone will always, always find a way around them until we have everything so locked down we can’t even function.

Radonda Vaught Trial

What do you think the verdict should/will be?