Ohio Doctor, Hospital Facing 15th Wrongful Death Lawsuit

A 15th wrongful-death lawsuit has been filed against an Ohio hospital system and a now-fired intensive care doctor who’s under investigation for ordering possibly fatal pain medication doses for dozens of patients.

Many of the lawsuits allege patients in the Columbus-based Mount Carmel Health System received lethal doses of the powerful painkiller fentanyl ordered by Dr. William Husel without families knowing. But the case filed over the September death of 58-year-old Donald McClung alleges he was given a lethal dose of another opioid, hydromorphone, known by the brand name Dilaudid.

Families suing Husel, Mount Carmel and staff who approved and administered drugs question whether medication was wrongly used to hasten deaths.

Husel’s lawyers aren’t commenting on the allegations.

Mount Carmel has apologized and put 23 other employees on leave.