A fourth wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Mount Carmel Health System and a now-fired doctor accused of prescribing 27 near-death patients fatal doses of fentanyl without their families' knowledge.
The suit alleges William Husel fraudulently withheld information about 65-year-old Jan Thomas' prognosis, led her family to believe she'd die naturally after being removed from life support, and didn't disclose she'd get lethal fentanyl. Husel's attorneys aren't commenting. Meanwhile, a Columbus law firm is preparing to file another wrongful death lawsuit against the hospital, Husel, and a nurse. The suit is over the death of 80-year-old James Allen who died at the hospital in May last year. Attorney Gerald Leeseburg says Allen died 20-minutes after Husel ordered a nurse to administer a dose of fentanyl.