COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The Latest on wrongful death lawsuits filed against an Ohio doctor accused of ordering potentially fatal doses of pain medicine to near-death hospital patients (all times local):
5:45 p.m.
An attorney says an additional wrongful death lawsuit has been filed alleging an Ohio doctor and the hospital where he worked caused a patient’s death by improperly prescribing a lethal dose of pain medication.
The complaint is at least the third filed against Dr. William Husel (HYOO’-suhl) this week as allegations emerged over improper dosing.
Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System says the intensive care doctor ordered pain medicine for at least 27 patients in dosages significantly bigger than necessary to provide comfort for them after their families asked that lifesaving measures be stopped.
The new lawsuit says a “grossly inappropriate dose” of pain medication led to the July 15 death of 44-year-old Troy Allison.
Attorney Craig Tuttle confirmed Wednesday’s filing. A law firm representing Husel is declining comment.
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2:20 p.m.
An Ohio man says he was stunned to learn of allegations that his wife’s hospital death last year was caused by a doctor’s order for a fatal dose of pain medication.
David Austin, of Columbus, says he called the ambulance after his wife, Bonnie Austin, complained of trouble breathing in September.
A lawsuit alleges the 64-year-old woman was killed negligently or intentionally when she was given the painkiller fentanyl and a powerful sedative ordered by a doctor who said she was brain-dead.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday against Dr. William Husel (HYOO’-suhl), Mount Carmel Health System, a pharmacist and a nurse.
Austin said Wednesday he felt “like somebody kicked me in the chest” when he learned of the allegations months after his wife’s death.
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10:45 a.m.
An attorney says a second wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against an Ohio doctor accused of ordering that near-death hospital patients get potentially fatal doses of pain medicine.
The Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System announced this week it has fired the doctor, notified authorities and removed 20 employees from patient care pending review.
The new lawsuit alleges 64-year-old Bonnie Austin, of Columbus, was killed negligently or intentionally in September when she was given the painkiller fentanyl and a powerful sedative ordered by a doctor who said she was brain-dead.
The lawsuit was filed against Dr. William Husel (HYOO’-suhl), Mount Carmel, a pharmacist and a nurse.
Court records list no attorney for Husel, and phone numbers linked to him haven’t accepted calls.
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