Ten former employees are suing Columbus, Ohio-based Mount Carmel Health System, claiming they were wrongfully terminated after an investigation revealed 35 intensive care unit patients received "excessive and potentially fatal" painkiller doses between 2015 and 2018, reports WOSU Public Media.
William Husel, DO, a former intensive care physician at the hospital, has been charged with 25 counts of murder for allegedly prescribing the fatal doses. After an investigation into the deaths, Mount Carmel also terminated 23 other team members.
Seven former nurses, a nursing supervisor, a clinical educator and a pharmacist filed the suit against the system Dec. 19, accusing Mount Carmel of wrongful termination and defamation. The suit contends that Dr. Husel, along with the nurses and pharmacists who worked with him, never intended to harm patients and didn't violate hospital policy.
"I firmly believe that every single nurse that I worked shoulder to shoulder with would never intend to cause death," Rebecca McNeil, BSN, RN, a nurse who worked at Mount Carmel for 19 years, told WOSU. "Our goal was to stop the pain and allow what we could consider a good death."
Mount Carmel denied the lawsuit's claims in a written statement to WOSU.
"We thoroughly investigated these events and stand by our decisions," a spokesperson told the publication. "Mount Carmel's focus continues to be on caring for our community."
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