Nurse not guilty of forgery-related charge in death of elderly patient
Tammy Carrigan-Warner cleared of uttering forged document after man, 79, left hospital, died outside
A Cape Breton nurse has been found not guilty of a forgery-related charge in connection with the death of an elderly hospital patient in February 2018.
Registered nurse Tammy Carrigan-Warner, 43, of Sydney River, was one of two health-care workers charged with uttering forged documents.
Provincial court Judge Peter Ross delivered his decision in the case Tuesday following a trial.
The charges were laid after Colin Francis MacDonald, 79, of Grand Mira South, wandered out of the Cape Breton Regional Hospital just after midnight on Feb. 23, 2018.
MacDonald had been in a secure unit and left through a fire door, according to the judge's written decision, which was released Wednesday. The alarm on the door did not sound.
His body was discovered several hours later in the hospital's back parking lot. Court documents indicate he died of hypothermia.
During her trial, prosecutors alleged that Carrigan-Warner and the other accused made false entries in their nursing notes, indicating the man was in his hospital bed during the time he was missing.
Carrigan-Warner's lawyer, Joel Pink, said his client made an honest mistake in believing the man was in his bed.
A decision is expected next month in the case of the other accused, Valerie MacGillivray, 49, of Glace Bay, a licensed practical nurse.