The Problem
Even in the most well-meaning of systems, like health care, error is inevitable. Health care workers are human so they make mistakes. Regrettably, when they make mistakes people can suffer harm or die. To make this even worse, survivors must endure the unfairness that creeps in inevitably.
We respond in different ways to the horror redoubled by the lack of justice. But different causes for mistakes require varied solutions. If it’s blameworthy, for example, a physician injures or kills a patient while intoxicated, then that provider is responsible and must be held accountable. However, what about that nurse, RaDonda Vaught, who made an innocent or blameless mistake, due to human error, and administered a fatal dose that killed Charlene Murphey, her 75 year-old patient? Don’t get me wrong, the surviving family requires an agreed upon resolution for the harm and horrific loss they suffered. But is accusing this nurse of breaking the law and convicting her for criminally negligent homicide the answer?
Pass a law to criminalizes wrongful acts and prosecutors will punish offenders with convictions. It so simple to write a new rule and assume mistakes will end. Unfortunately, punishment does not prevent future harm. Do you think for a moment that human error will decrease because of RaDonda’s conviction? Does this issue even belong within the realm of lawmaking?
