Porter v. Department of Employment Security

Gloria Porter had been employed at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont in Burlington as a registered nurse for over two years. On June 15, 1978, she came on duty at 3:30 P.M. on Patrick 4 (the neurosurgery floor) as the nurse in charge on that floor for the evening shift. It was her duty to check on each patient and to administer the 4:00 P.M. medications. Patrick 4 was at capacity that afternoon, with 24 patients, and was a very active unit.

During the course of her rounds, nurse Porter noticed that the nurse in charge of the previous shift had neglected a doctor’s order to administer a…