- Dani Marie Schofield, a former nurse at Asante Rogue Regional Scientific Heart in Medford, Oregon, used to be arrested and charged with 44 counts of second-degree attack for stealing fentanyl from sufferers and changing it with non-sterile faucet water in intravenous drips.
- Schofield used to be now not charged with manslaughter as a result of investigators may now not determine that the infections led to via the faucet water at once led to the sufferers’ deaths.
- David deVilleneuve, an Oregon legal professional, stated he has been in contact with about 4 dozen former sufferers who’re exploring whether or not to sue over their medication via Schofield.
A former nurse at a southern Oregon medical institution is dealing with legal fees that she harmed just about 4 dozen sufferers via stealing fentanyl and changing it with non-sterile faucet water in intravenous drips.
Lots of the sufferers advanced severe infections, and 16 of them died, however government stated they didn’t pursue homicide, manslaughter or criminally negligent murder fees as a result of investigators may now not determine that the infections led to the ones deaths. The sufferers have been already inclined and being handled within the medical institution’s extensive care unit, the Medford Police Division famous.
Dani Marie Schofield, 36, a former nurse at Asante Rogue Regional Scientific Heart in Medford, used to be arrested ultimate week and as an alternative charged with 44 counts of second-degree attack. She pleaded now not in charge on Friday and used to be being hung on $4 million bail, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
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“After overview of medical institution data, affected person data and pathology studies, MPD consulted with more than one clinical mavens, who every agreed that questionable deaths related to this example may now not be at once attributed to the infections,” the police division stated in a information unencumber.
The investigation started past due ultimate 12 months after medical institution officers spotted a troubling spike in central line infections from July 2022 via July 2023 and instructed police they believed an worker have been diverting fentanyl, resulting in “hostile” results for sufferers.
Fentanyl is a formidable artificial opioid that has helped gas the country’s overdose epidemic, however additionally it is utilized in respectable clinical settings to alleviate serious ache. Drug robbery from hospitals is a longstanding drawback.
The Asante Rogue Regional Scientific Heart is noticed on Jan. 4, 2024, in Medford, Oregon. (Janet Eastman/The Oregonian by means of AP, Document)
Schofield voluntarily agreed to chorus from working towards as a nurse and to droop her nursing license pending the end result of the legal case, Clark R. Horner, Schofield’s civil legal professional, stated based on a pending civil go well with filed in February towards Schofield and the medical institution.
The lawsuit used to be filed via the property of Horace Wilson, who died on the Asante Rogue Scientific Heart. He had sought care on the medical institution on Jan. 27, 2022, after falling from a ladder. He suffered bleeding from his spleen and had it got rid of.
However medical doctors then famous “unexplained top fevers, very top white blood cellular counts, and a precipitous decline,” the criticism stated. Assessments showed an an infection of treatment-resistant micro organism, Staphylococcus epidermidis. Wilson died weeks later.
According to the lawsuit, Schofield denied she used to be negligent or led to damage to Wilson.
David deVilleneuve, an Oregon legal professional, stated he has been in contact with about 4 dozen former sufferers or their representatives who’re exploring whether or not to sue over their medication via Schofield. Simplest 15 of them seemed at the record of sufferers government named within the indictment. He stated he expects to report his first proceedings inside about 3 weeks.
DeVilleneuve stated he used to be stunned that prosecutors didn’t price Schofield with manslaughter. However he famous that proving she led to the deaths could be harder in a legal case, the place the usual is past a cheap doubt, than in a civil one, the place this can be a preponderance of the proof.
“Their burden of evidence is upper than mine,” he stated.
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Asante ultimate December contacted Medford police referring to a former worker “that they imagine used to be concerned within the robbery of fentanyl prescribed to sufferers leading to some hostile affected person results,” the criticism stated.
That month, medical institution representatives “started contacting sufferers and their family telling them a nurse had changed fentanyl with faucet water inflicting bacterial infections,” it stated.
Schofield for every price faces a compulsory minimal of 5 years and 10 months in jail with a possible most sentence of 10 years.
