2nd suit filed over pain meds given to near-death patients in Ohio

COLUMBUS (AP) — An attorney says a second wrongful-death lawsuit has been filed against an Ohio doctor accused of ordering that near-death hospital patients get potentially fatal pain medicine in doses much larger than needed to keep them comfortable.

The Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System announced this week it has fired the doctor, notified authorities and removed 20 employees from patient care pending review.

The new lawsuit alleges 64-year-old Bonnie Austin, of Columbus, was killed negligently or intentionally in September when she was given the painkiller fentanyl and a powerful sedative ordered by a doctor who said she was brain-dead.

The lawsuit was filed against Dr. William Husel, Mount Carmel, a pharmacist and a nurse.

Court records list no attorney for Husel, and phone numbers linked to him haven’t accepted calls.