An Oregon hospital is facing a $303 million lawsuit filed by attorneys who are representing both deceased and living patients after a nurse who worked there has been accused of replacing their prescribed fentanyl with tap water in their intravenous drips.
The claims of medical malpractice and wrongful death were filed against Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford over negligence.
According to the suit, the hospital didn’t properly monitor its procedures for medication administration. In addition to other claims, the suit says the hospital didn’t do enough to prevent employees from participating in drug diversion.
In June, one of the hospital’s former nurses, Dani Marie Schofield, was charged with 44 counts of assault in the second degree. This comes after police investigated the theft and then misuse of controlled substances which resulted in patients contracting infections.
She has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
This lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday, doesn’t name Schofield in it or list her as one of the defendants.
Earlier this year, the estate of a 65-year-old man who was a patient at the hospital and died filed a separate lawsuit against the hospital and the nurse.
There are 18 plaintiffs in this new suit, which include the estates of nine people who died and nine other patients.
The suit says that in December, the hospital began to inform them that one employee replaced the fentanyl they were supposed to get in the IV with tap water that wasn’t sterile. This caused them to contract bacterial infections.
As the complaint argues:
“All Plaintiff Patients were infected with bacterium uniquely associated with waterborne transmission.”
The plaintiffs who are still living say they experienced mental anguish as a result of the bacterial infections. They are seeking millions of dollars as a result for lost income, medical expenses and pain and suffering. The estates of those who died are seeking compensation for the same.
Late in 2023, police in Medford, Oregon, started to investigate the situation after officials at the hospital started to notice a concerning spike in what are called central line infections. The staff noticed that the infections rose sharply between July of 2022 and July of 2023.
Officials at the hospital told police they believed they had an employee who was diverting fentanyl.
The drug is a very powerful synthetic opioid that many people have gotten hooked on through illicit means. It’s caused many deaths throughout the world, as drug dealers will lace other street drugs with it. And since it’s so potent, it’s hard for them to control how much goes in — and equally as hard for users to know how much they’re ingesting.
At the same time, there are legitimate medical reasons why patients would be prescribed fentanyl in a hospital setting to deal with severe pain. It’s a common pain-relieving drug that’s used in post-operative settings, where medical professionals know how much to prescribe and how to administer it safely.
Now, though, theft of drugs such as fentanyl from hospitals is becoming a big problem.
