Legal Pearls: Nurse Convicted of Negligent Homicide Sentenced to Probation
The Legal Case
The prosecutors argued that the nurse’s mistake was criminally negligent because she overrode the safety system on a computerized medication cabinet, chose the first medication starting with “VE,” and then failed to respond to “red flags,” such as the vecuronium had a red cap that read “warning: paralyzing agent.”
In March 2022, a jury found the nurse guilty of gross neglect of an impaired adult and negligent homicide, charges that could have carried up to 8 years in prison. The conviction sent chills through the medical community. “Health care delivery is highly complex,” said the American Nurses Association in a statement. “It is inevitable that mistakes will happen, and systems will fail. It is completely unrealistic to think otherwise. The criminalization of medical errors is unnerving, and this verdict sets into motion a dangerous precedent.”
The Decision
In May, when the nurse went before the judge for sentencing, the judge chose to not impose any jail time, but instead to sentence the nurse to 3 years of probation. The judge noted that the offense “was not motivated by any intent to violate the law, but through oversight and gross negligence and neglect, as the jury concluded. The defendant also accepted responsibility immediately. She made every effort in the moment that she recognized her error to remedy the situation.” The judge also included a provision expunging the nurse’s criminal record if she successfully completes probation.
The Bottom Line
“We are grateful to the judge for demonstrating leniency in the sentencing,” stated the American Nurses Association, in a statement after the sentencing. “Unfortunately, medical errors can and do happen, even among skilled, well-meaning, and vigilant nurses and health care professionals.”
Ann W. Latner, JD, is a freelance writer and attorney based in New York. She was formerly the director of periodicals at the American Pharmacists Association and editor of Pharmacy Times.