MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — Lawyers representing living and deceased patients at an Oregon hospital filed a $303 million lawsuit Tuesday against the facility after a nurse was accused of substituting unsterile tap water for prescribed fentanyl in intravenous infusions.
The wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuit accuses Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford of negligence. The suit claims the hospital failed to monitor medication administration procedures and failed to prevent drug diversion by its employees, among other claims.
A spokesperson said the hospital had no comment.
Dani Marie Schofield, a former nurse at the hospital, was arrested in June and charged with 44 counts of second-degree assault. The charges stem from a police investigation into theft and misuse of controlled substances that led to infections among patients. She has pleaded not guilty.
Schofield is not named or cited as a defendant in the complaint filed Tuesday. A separate suit was filed against Schofield and the hospital earlier this year on behalf of the estate of a deceased 65-year-old man.
The 18 plaintiffs in the new lawsuit include nine patients and the estates of nine deceased patients. According to the complaint, the hospital began notifying them in December that an employee had replaced fentanyl in tap water, causing bacterial infections.
“All of the plaintiff patients were infected with a bacteria specifically associated with waterborne transmission,” the complaint states.
According to the lawsuit, all of the plaintiffs suffered mental anguish, seeking millions of dollars in damages for medical expenses, lost income and pain and suffering of the deceased.
Medford police began investigating late last year after hospital officials noticed a concerning increase in central line infections from July 2022 to July 2023 and told police they believed an employee was diverting fentanyl.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that has helped fuel the U.S. overdose epidemic, but it is also used in legitimate medical settings to relieve severe pain. Theft of medications from hospitals has been a long-standing problem.
