COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio hospital system says an intensive care doctor gave "significantly excessive and potentially fatal" doses of pain medicine to at least 27 near-death patients in the past few years after families asked that lifesaving measures be stopped.
The Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System says it fired the doctor, reported its findings to authorities and removed 20 employees from patient care pending further investigation. Those include pharmacists and nurses who administered medication.
The announcement came after a family sued, alleging medicine was used to hasten a patient's death. The lawsuit was filed Monday against the health system, a pharmacist, a nurse and the doctor, which it identifies as William Husel.
Case records list no attorney to comment on Husel's behalf. There is no public personal phone listing for him.
