Nurse charged in fatal drug-swap error to appear in court

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee nurse charged with criminal homicide after a medication error killed a patient is scheduled to appear in court.

Nurses have rallied online in defense of Radonda Vaught, who has raised more than $71,000 for her legal bills through a GoFundMe page.

According to a report on the accident and court documents, Vaught accidentally injected 75-year-old Charlene Murphey with the paralytic vecuronium in December 2017. That's a drug sometimes used in executions. Vaught was supposed to use Versed, a sedative.

The mistake came when the 35-year-old Vaught could not find Versed in an automatic dispensing cabinet and used an override. Then she typed in "VE" and picked the first drug that came up.

Vaught is scheduled to enter a plea in court in Nashville on Wednesday.