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Nurses face murder charges in jailed teen's death

Hospital Safety Connection, January 28, 2004

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A grand jury charged two nurses at a Miami juvenile jail with murder January 27, accusing the pair of failing to treat a 17-year-old inmate who died of a burst appendix after spending three days in pain, the Associated Press reports.

A Miami-Dade County grand jury said the women skipped examinations or falsified medical records on Omar Paisley, who was jailed at the center for cutting another youth with a soda can.

After a nine-month investigation, the grand jury noted that the Department of Juvenile Justice is immune from criminal indictments. The panel called for major changes at the jail to prevent another unnecessary death.

Authorities expected the nurses, Gaile Tucker Loperfido and Dianne Marie Demeritte, to surrender January 28. They face up to nine years in prison on charges of third-degree murder and aggravated manslaughter of a child.

Only the nurses were indicted, but the grand jury said several others played roles in Paisley's death. Loperfido and Demeritte worked for Miami Children's Hospital under a contact with the 226-bed Miami-Dade Regional Juvenile Detention Center. Their contacts with the jail have been cancelled.

The grand jury made 20 recommendations for reform, including same-day examination of sick inmates, 24-hour medical service, timely physician review of charts, and adding staff and video surveillance.

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