Husel’s attorney addresses conditions of Mount Carmel patients – News – The Columbus Dispatch

Court documents filed by the lawyer of a former Mount Carmel Health System doctor accused of overdosing dozens of near-death patients give a grim picture of the circumstances faced by three of those people before their deaths.

Mount Carmel has said Dr. William Husel, 43, of Liberty Township, gave excessive doses to 34 intensive-care patients, with 28 potentially fatal, from 2015 to 2018.

At least 16 wrongful-death lawsuits have been filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

The latest court documents, filed Wednesday, were a response to attorney David Shroyer’s argument that Husel should be deposed and evidence be collected in the three cases he is handling. Husel’s attorney, Gregory Foliano, has asked to delay the lawsuits.

This is the first time Foliano’s court filings have provided patient details. He describes two women who had repeatedly lost their heartbeats and one who had suffered severe brain damage before they died at Mount Carmel West hospital in Franklinton.

>>Complete coverage: Find out more on this on-going investigation at Mount Carmel

In one filing, he says patient Jan Thomas had undergone radiology tests showing she likely had suffered a stroke in her brain stem. “Neurology was consulted, noting that her presentation was not compatible with life or any meaningful recovery,” the filing states.

Jeremia (Sue) Hodge suffered a cardiac arrest on April 1, was found to have no heartbeat, and received extensive cardiopulmonary resuscitation before she was taken to a heart-catheterization lab, “where it was determined there was nothing they could do,” Foliano says in the court records. She was taken to the ICU in a “pulseless arrest” and later died, the filing says.

Bonnie Austin suffered multiple cardiac arrests, repeatedly losing her pulse, and received extensive cardiopulmonary resuscitation and a pacemaker, Foliano says. She had lost consciousness due to arrest and never awoke, his fling says.

Thomas died March 1, 2015; Hodge died April 1, 2018; and Austin died on Sept. 30, 2018, all after receiving a high dose of fentanyl ordered by Husel, and all within hours of arriving at the hospital, according to David Shroyer, who filed wrongful-death lawsuits on behalf of the women’s family members. Hodge and Austin also received high doses of the sedative midazolam, or Versed.

Shroyer said Thursday that the circumstances described in the lawsuits indeed sound dire, but that focusing on the women’s conditions “kind of misses the point.”

“Obviously these people were sick. That’s why they were in the ICU.” he said. “The issue in the cases is the lethal doses of fentanyl. If it hastens someone’s death, it’s murder.”

Foliano’s filings also detail a history of several health issues for each woman.

Many aspects of their health issues and deaths have previously been shared publicly by family members of the women and by Shroyer.

Foliano did not return a call from The Dispatch seeking comment late Thursday afternoon. Neither Husel nor any of his lawyers have commented publicly.

Foliano had initially asked on Feb. 5 for the postponement of Husel’s deposition in the civil proceedings, noting that Husel is the subject of a law enforcement investigation that could lead to criminal charges. 

Among Foliano’s arguments is that Husel would be forced to assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if required to answer questions regarding the cases.

Judges have yet to rule in the matter.

Dispatch reporter Mike Wagner contributed to this report.

jviviano@dispatch.com

@JoAnneViviano