A doctor from Ohio accused of overdosing his patients with fentanyl has sued the hospital claiming that he was following the end-of-life policy that the hospital follows. He has filed the lawsuit against the Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System and its parent organization, Trinity Health Corp. The lawsuit filed on Thursday followed the detailed account of the hospital policy and came after a pharmacist and nine nurses filed separate lawsuits against the hospital saying that it was not the doctor's fault.
The lawsuit claims that the patients died from their illness rather than the overdose of fentanyl. It also mentions how deep of a cut the case has left in Dr William Husel's career. Husel, upon joining Mount Carmel in 2013 as a critical care physician did not receive any formal training but was regarded as the doctor of the year in 2014 by the hospital.
'Potentially fatal' drug administered with the hospital's knowledge
The lawsuit claims more than $50,000 for the damages along with the attorney fee from the hospital and the Trinity Health Corp. The hospital and Trinity Health Corp responded by saying that the allegation put forth by the doctor is 'unfounded'. The hospital is standing by their decision after conducting an extensive review of the care provided by Husel to his patients.
In January this year, several lawsuits were filed against Husel after nearly 25 patients passed away from the fatal doses of fentanyl. The families had requested for the life-saving measures to be stopped before the drug was administered. The hospital system upon receiving news about the usage of the drugs and the suits had fired Husel and removed several other staffs who were a part of administering the pain-killer to the patients.
Around twenty-eight Mount Carmel staffs face administrative discipline by their respective state licensing boards. The state medical board of Ohio had suspended Husel's license in January following the lawsuits.
