must reference material in the reading assignment.

1. Based on Chapter 6: Criminal Aspects of Health Care: Nurse
2. Injects Patients with Lidocaine - People v. Diaz - page 109, Criminal Aspects of Health Care only, examine how the evidence showed - when there were no eyewitnesses - that the defendant was the one who killed the 12 patients.
3. The defense in People v. Diaz theorized that some of the deaths resulted from natural causes, while others were caused by adverse reactions to medications administered for therapeutic purposes. They also argued that even if the evidence established the defendant to be the killer of the 12 patients, the prosecution did not show that the defendants acted with malice, an element of the crime of murder. The defense pointed out that both prosecution and defense experts testified regarding instances of accidental lidocaine overdoses in other hospitals, and the defense theorizes that perhaps this was the case here. Do you agree with the defense arguments? Why?

NURSE INJECTS PATIENTS WITH LIDOCAINE cietion: Fople v. Diaz, B34 P.2d 1171 (Cal. 1992) facts 13 patients on the night shift had sezures, cardiac atrest, and respiratory arest: nine died. The unit dosed, and the difendons wett to work at another hospital Within 3 dans a patient died after ech bing the same symptoms as these of the pasients nithe pevous hospital while the defendant was on duty. The defendant was arested and tried for 12 courss df murde: The testinony revealed that the defendant injected the patients with massive doses of lidocaine ia rthy thrnopporturify for the nurse to administer the drug She was observed acting strangely con the nighis of the deachs, and Figh concentrations of lidocaine were found in the potients syringes. Moreover, syringes containing the drug and isocaine visk were discovered in the defendants home. Fretrial imestigation revealed that 26 other patients had died at the defendants first hospital while undes the numer care. Al had the same symptoms. The defendant, who waived her right to trial by jury, was found gulty of the 12 counts of murder. The nurse appesled the judgment. Issue Did the cepeet test mony support the finding that an overdose of lioocaine caused the patients deaths? Oad the evidence prove that the defendant had the opportunity to give patients overdoses of ildocaine? Holding the Callorna Supleme Court upheld the conviktions. Reason The enpert testimony about the levels of lidocaine in the patient' tissuc, coupled with the nurses testimony concerning thesymptorns prior to the deaths, confirmed that the patients died fiom overdoses given to them by the defendart. Testimony thowed that the defendant was the only nurse on duty the night eachipatient was posoned, other nurses were there only on some of the nights, and only the defendant fiad the opportunity to administer the fatal doses. - MANSLAUGHTER Mosslanghter is the commission of an unintentional act that results in the death of another person. It can be cether volantary or involuntary. Voluntary manslaughter is the intentional killing of another person without premeditation or malice aforethought, in what is commonly referted to as the "heat of passion." which is caused by the prowocation of the victim (c.g, found having an affair whth the defendant's spouse), involuntary mandaughter is the fesult of a negligent act that occurs when the defendint did not intend to kill the victim but acted in a criminally negligent or reckless manner, such as performing aribly surgical procedure when the defendant was aware that he or she was not sufficiently competent to perform it. There are an endless number of cases where physicans have been charged with manslaughter, as follows. - A physician was charged in patient's death from substandard tummy tuck. A medical board found, after reviewing the case, that the physician practiced internal medicine and was not a surgeon. He did not have adequate backup, including support staff, equipment to monitor vitals, or a crash cart. which would have had resuscitative drugs, oxy. gen, and a defibrillator to be used in the event the patient suffered distress during the procedure - A cosmetic surgeon was "charged with involuntary manslaughter after allegedly giving a deadly cocktail of drugs during a liposuction procedure. authorities said." - A surgeon was convicted of manslaughter for delay. ing an operation and was "sentenced to 2yearsin1/2 prison, of which he must serve at least half, for delaying surgery for a man with a perforated intestine." - In Manhattan Beach, a plastic surgeon was charged with manslaughter after a liposuction patient died on the operating table. He was charged with recklessly performing liposuction on a patient he knew previously had had a heart transplant, causing her death during the operation." - A surgeon was charged with manslaughter over a kidney error in the death of a war veteran whose healthy kidney was accidentally removed instead of the diseased one