25 Jan Mount Carmel Health System in Ohio says three dead, 34 affected by excessive doses of pain medication
The Columbus hospital said the three people died “after receiving excessive and potentially fatal doses of medication” ordered by a doctor who has since been fired.
The president and CEO of the hospital, Ed Lamb, said in a statement that “at least” 34 patients were affected by the actions of Dr. William Husel, who was treating patients who were near death.
CNN has been unable to reach Husel, who worked for the hospital for five years. He does not appear to have an attorney.
Lamb said the hospital received a formal report on October 25, 2018, that related to the doctor’s care. “Based on what we learned about that report, we should have begun a more expedited process to investigate and consider immediate removal of Dr. Husel from patient care at that time,” he said.
The three patients died between October 25 and November 21, when the doctor was removed from patient care. The hospital fired him on December 5.
“We are sorry for this tragedy, and we will continue to investigate how we responded to this report and whether there is any other information that should have led us to investigate sooner into Dr. Husel’s practices,” Lamb said.
Lawsuit claims lethal dose of Fentanyl
The Ohio Department of Health says it is investigating. Franklin County prosecutors were unavailable Thursday. It’s not known if there are any other pending investigations.
Four lawsuits have been filed in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas by survivors of patients of Husel, naming him, the hospital and others as defendants. The suits allege the excessive medication led directly to the deaths. One lawsuit concerns a patient who died in 2015.
Fentanyl is the deadliest drug in America, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CNN’s Jay Croft and Janet DiGiacomo contributed to this report.
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