Just say a nurse has been working really hard and has been putting in as many hours as she can because she loves her job , she truly loves caring for the sick and making them better. Her vacation is approaching in a few weeks and her chaotic workload is beginning to take it’s toll on her. The creeping fatigue is becoming more overwhelming. She wants and needs a break , but her ward is becoming too chaotic and she is told by her superior to just work through it. Two patients with the same surname are requesting medical and she accidentally mixed them both up and one of the patients dies.
Would the nurse be looking at murder/manslaughter charges , despite her openally stating that fatigue is wearing her down ?
Comments
This seems oddly specific
Yes.
>despite her openally stating that fatigue is wearing her down ?
She’s taken too many hours and worked to the point she’s a danger to her patients.
Yes she would be charged. Just like if you were driving and killed someone then said you had been driving for hours and was fatigued.
There has been one instance in aware of where a nurse has been charged with murder who giving the wrong med and killing a patient – in this case she made several severe errors that a court ruled constituted negligent homicide.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/03/25/1088902487/former-nurse-found-guilty-in-accidental-injection-death-of-75-year-old-patient
A criminal charge for a nurse making an error is actually very rare though.