- Dani Marie Schofield, a former attendant at Asante Rogue Regional Scientific Middle 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 H2O in intravenous drips.
- Schofield used to be now not charged with manslaughter as a result of investigators may now not identify that the infections brought about through the faucet H2O at once brought about the sufferers’ deaths.
- David deVilleneuve, an Oregon legal professional, stated he has been in contact with about 4 quantity former sufferers who’re exploring whether or not to sue over their medication through Schofield.
A former attendant at a southern Oregon health facility is going through legal fees that she harmed just about 4 quantity sufferers through stealing fentanyl and replacing it with non-sterile faucet H2O 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 identify that the infections brought about the ones deaths. The sufferers had been already prone and being handled within the health facility’s in depth help unit, the Medford Police Branch famous.
Dani Marie Schofield, 36, a former attendant at Asante Rogue Regional Scientific Middle in Medford, used to be arrested closing age and in lieu charged with 44 counts of second-degree attack. She pleaded now not to blame on Friday and used to be being hung on $4 million bail, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
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“After review of hospital records, patient records and pathology reports, MPD consulted with multiple medical experts, who each agreed that questionable deaths associated with this case could not be directly attributed to the infections,” the police area stated in a information reduce.
The investigation started overdue closing generation then health facility officers spotted a troubling spike in central series infections from July 2022 thru July 2023 and advised police they believed an worker have been diverting fentanyl, eminent to “adverse” results for sufferers.
Fentanyl is a formidable artificial opioid that has helped fuel the nation’s overdose epidemic, however it’s also impaired in professional scientific settings to alleviate terrible ache. Drug robbery from hospitals is a longstanding disease.
The Asante Rogue Regional Scientific Middle is revealed on Jan. 4, 2024, in Medford, Oregon. (Janet Eastman/The Oregonian by means of AP, Document)
Schofield eagerly indubitably to chorus from practising as a attendant and to droop her nursing license pending the result of the legal case, Clark R. Horner, Schofield’s civil legal professional, stated in line with a pending civil go well with filed in February towards Schofield and the health facility.
The lawsuit used to be filed through the property of Horace Wilson, who died on the Asante Rogue Scientific Middle. He had sought help on the health facility on Jan. 27, 2022, then falling from a ladder. He suffered bleeding from his spleen and had it got rid of.
However medical doctors after famous “unexplained high fevers, very high white blood cell counts, and a precipitous decline,” the grievance stated. Checks showed an illness of treatment-resistant micro organism, Staphylococcus epidermidis. Wilson died weeks next.
In accordance with the lawsuit, Schofield denied she used to be negligent or brought about trauma to Wilson.
David deVilleneuve, an Oregon legal professional, stated he has been in contact with about 4 quantity former sufferers or their representatives who’re exploring whether or not to sue over their medication through Schofield. Handiest 15 of them seemed at the record of sufferers government named within the indictment. He stated he expects to record his first proceedings inside of about 3 weeks.
DeVilleneuve stated he used to be shocked that prosecutors didn’t price Schofield with manslaughter. However he famous that proving she brought about the deaths can be harder in a legal case, the place the usual is past an inexpensive indecision, than in a civil one, the place this can be a preponderance of the proof.
“Their burden of proof is higher than mine,” he stated.
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Asante closing December contacted Medford police referring to a former worker “that they imagine used to be concerned within the theft of fentanyl prescribed to sufferers make happen some hostile affected person results,” the grievance stated.
That date, health facility representatives “began contacting patients and their relatives telling them a nurse had replaced fentanyl with tap water causing 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.
