21-03-2025
RaDonda Vaught's bid to reinstate nursing license denied by Tennessee Court of Appeals
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — RaDonda Vaught's nursing license will remain revoked, following an order from the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
In an opinion released Thursday, March 20, Judge Thomas R. Frierson II said Vaught waived certain affirmative defenses in her initial administrative proceeding and affirmed the revocation of her nursing license.
At issue is the decision of the Tennessee Board of Nursing's decision to revoke Vaught's license in 2021. Vaught sought a judicial review of the Board's decision, raising the issue of the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel—legal terms that mean a case can't be re-litigated—as affirmative defenses.
Vaught claimed a letter from a doctor who testified both at the administrative proceeding and her criminal case should be considered as evidence in her favor. The trial court agreed that Vaught hadn't waived the affirmative defenses in her initial administrative proceeding but declined to overturn the Board's decision to revoke her license. Vaught then appealed the trial court's opinion on keeping her license revoked.
RELATED: Letters of support, blame for RaDonda Vaught released
'Upon review, we determine that the nurse waived the affirmative defenses of res judicata and collateral estoppel because she failed to present those doctrines during the administrative proceedings,' the Court said. 'Accordingly, we reverse the trial court's determination concerning waiver of those defenses. In all other respects, we affirm.'
The decision means Vaught will continue to be barred from working as a practicing nurse in the state of Tennessee.
Vaught gained national attention in 2022 when she faced trial on two charges related to administering the wrong medication to 75-year-old Charlene Murphey in 2017. She was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and abuse of an impaired adult and ultimately sentenced to three years of supervised probation for the medication error that led to Murphy's death.
Two years ago, Vaught began fighting to improve the healthcare system and began appealing the revocation of her nursing license. However, at that time she told News 2 her goal was not to be able to practice nursing again; rather, she wanted to highlight some of the issues surrounding the Board's action.
Initially, the Board elected not to take any disciplinary action against her. In the opinion, the Court detailed how there was an initial complaint logged against her in 2018, but an initial internal investigation by the Tennessee Department of Health determined the matter 'did not merit further action.'
RaDonda Vaught: Ex-Vanderbilt nurse hopes to see change in industry
But two months later, in December 2018, the Department reopened its investigation after receiving a new complaint related to the same case, which culminated in her conviction.
In its opinion, the Appeals Court said the evidence reviewed in the case leaned in favor of the Board's decision to revoke her nursing license.
'We determine that Ms. Vaught waived the affirmative defenses of res judicata and collateral estoppel through her failure to raise those doctrines before the Board in the first instance,' Frierson's opinion states. 'We accordingly reverse the trial court's determination relative to that issue. In all other respects, we affirm the trial court's November 27, 2023 order upholding the Board's decision to revoke Ms. Vaught's nursing license.'
All court costs were assessed to Vaught, as well.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
