Homicide trial for ex-nurse's medication error goes to jury

The fate of a former Tennessee nurse whose patient died after she was accidentally injected with a paralyzing drug is in the hands of the jury

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The fate of a former Tennessee nurse whose patient died after she was accidentally injected with a paralyzing drug was put in the hands of the jury on Thursday evening.

RaDonda Vaught, 37, is charged with reckless homicide for administering vecuronium to 75-year-old Charlene Murphey instead of the sedative Versed on Dec. 26, 2017. She is also charged with gross neglect of an impaired adult.

Murphey had been admitted to the neuro ICU on Dec. 24, 2017, after suffering from a brain bleed. Two days later, doctors trying to determine the cause of the bleed ordered a PET scan. Murphey was claustrophobic and was prescribed Versed for her anxiety, according to testimony. When Vaught could not find Versed in an automatic drug dispensing cabinet, she used an override and accidentally grabbed vecuronium instead.

In closing statements, defense attorney Peter Strianse questioned whether prosecutors had proven, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the vecuronium injection caused Murphey's death. Strianse pointed out that the original death certificate identified intracerebral hemorrhage and cardiac arrest as the cause of death. Only a year later was a new death certificate issued identifying vecuronium intoxication as the cause, and it was issued without an autopsy.