Dr. William Husel is accused of giving "excessive doses" of fentanyl to at least 35 patients at Mount Carmel West hospital in Columbus, as well as Mount Carmel St. Ann's. Here's a timeline of everything we know about Husel's tenure, his patients, and the lawsuits and investigations that have emerged.
The below timeline is not a complete record of Husel's actions, and will be updated as more information comes out.
2008-2013: William Husel completes residency at Cleveland Clinic.
2013: Husel starts working for Mount Carmel Health System.
Sept. 26, 2014: Sherry White dies at Mount Carmel West, age 73.
Feb. 11, 2015: Emma Bogan dies at Mount Carmel West, age 75.
March 1, 2015: Jan Thomas dies at Mount Carmel West, age 65.
May 4, 2015: Norma Welch dies at Mount Carmel West, age 85.
May 10, 2015: Joanna Bellisari dies at Mount Carmel West, age 69.
July 25, 2016: Sanders Young, Jr. dies at Mount Carmel West, age 67.
May 7, 2017: Virginia Brokamp dies at Mount Carmel West, age 72.
Oct. 9, 2017: Peggy Francies dies at Mount Carmel West, age 73.
- Timothy Fitzpatrick dies at Mount Carmel West, age 55.
- Beverlee Schitzinger dies at Mount Carmel West, age 63.
Oct. 11, 2017: Michael Walters dies at Mount Carmel West, age 57.
Dec. 10, 2017: Larry Brigner dies at Mount Carmel West, age 70.
Dec. 11, 2017: Janet Kavanaugh dies at Mount Carmel West, age 79.
Jan. 14, 2018: Brandy McDonald dies at Mount Carmel West, age 37.
- Unidentified patient dies at Mount Carmel West.
April 1, 2018: Jeremia Hodge dies at Mount Carmel West.
July 15, 2018: Troy Allison dies at Mount Carmel West, age 44.
May 28, 2018: James George Allen dies at Mount Carmel West, age 44.
Sept. 18, 2018: Donald H. McClung dies at Mount Carmel West, age 58.
Sept. 30, 2018: Bonnie Austin dies at Mount Carmel West, age 64.
Oct. 24, 2018: James Nickolas Timmons dies at Mount Carmel West, age 39.
Oct. 25, 2018: Mount Carmel receives a formal report of concerns regarding Dr. William Husel.
Nov. 13, 2018: Sandra Castle dies at Mount Carmel West, age 80.
Nov. 19, 2018: Mount Carmel says it received another formal report about Husel, and was pushed to expand its investigation.
- Rebecca Walls dies at Mount Carmel West, age 75.
Nov. 20, 2018: Melissa Penix dies at Mount Carmel West. According to a later lawsuit, Penix's case reportedly "prompted" the hospital's investigation into Husel.
Nov. 21, 2018: Mount Carmel receives third report about Husel, and Husel is removed from patient care.
- Between the time Mount Carmel received a report about Husel, and when they removed him from duty, three more of his patients died.
Dec. 5, 2018: Mount Carmel fires Husel with no public announcement. Subsequently, at least 20 nurses and pharmacists are removed from patient care duty.
- Mount Carmel notifies the State Medical Board and discusses its findings with Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien.
Dec. 7, 2018: Mount Carmel says it notified the Ohio Boards of Pharmacy and Nursing.
Dec. 11, 2018: Mount Carmel begins training staff on changes to procedures and policies.
Late December, 2018: Mount Carmel reaches out to the families who died under Husel's care from "excessive doses" of fentanyl.
Jan. 14, 2019: Janet Kavanaugh's family files a wrongful death lawsuit against Husel and Mount Carmel.
- Mount Carmel CEO Ed Lamb releases a video statement on Husel's firing. The video was originally intended to come out later in the week, but was released early because of the lawsuit.
Mid-January, 2019: Mount Carmel distributes updated medication guidelines to employees.
Mid-January, 2019: The Ohio Department of Health launches an investigation into Mount Carmel, on behalf of the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Jan. 15, 2019: Bonnie Austin's family files a second wrongful death lawsuit against Husel and Mount Carmel.
Jan. 16, 2019: Troy Allison's family files a third wrongful death lawsuit against Husel and Mount Carmel.
- Ohio Department of Health determines Mount Carmel "failed to prevent patients from receiving an overdose."
Jan. 17, 2019: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid inform Mount Carmel it is in "immediate jeopardy" and must submit action plans for both Mount Carmel West and Mount Carmel St. Ann's.
Jan. 22, 2019: Jan Thomas' family files a fourth wrongful death lawsuit against Husel and Mount Carmel.
- Husel meets with the State Medical Board for an investigative office conference.
Jan. 24, 2019: Mount Carmel announces it identified seven more patients given excessive doses of pain medication by Husel. The total number of patients affected is now 34.
- Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost requested the State Medical Board revoke Husel's license to practice medicine. Yost also asked the Ohio Department of Medicaid to block Husel from providing services to Medicaid patients.
Jan. 25, 2019: Two more lawsuits were filed against Husel and Mount Carmel, bringing the total number of suits to six.
- Ohio Department of Medicaid suspends Husel's provider agreement following allegations of excessive dosing. The department referred its findings to the Ohio Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
- The Ohio Medical Board suspends Husel's osteopathic medicine and surgery license.
Jan. 28, 2019: The family of Jeremia Hodge files the seventh lawsuit against Mount Carmel and William Husel.
- The family of Norma Welch files the eighth lawsuit against Mount Carmel and William Husel.
Jan. 29, 2019: Mount Carmel says 23 employees have been placed on administrative leave, including members of its management team.
Jan. 31, 2019: Ninth lawsuit filed against Mount Carmel and Husel, on behalf of Rebecca Walls.
Feb. 1, 2019: Mount Carmel announces it was placed in "immediate jeopardy" by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, amid an investigation by the Ohio Department for Health.
Feb. 4, 2019: Mount Carmel submits "plan of correction" to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.
Feb. 5, 2019: Three more lawsuits are filed on behalf of the families of Timothy Fitzpatrick, Larry Brigner and James Nickolas Timmons. That brings the total number of wrongful death suits to 12.
- Mount Carmel's chief pharmacy officer Janet Whittey leaves the hospital.
Feb. 7, 2019: The 13th and 14th lawsuits filed against Mount Carmel and Husel, on behalf of Melissa Penix and Emma Bogan.
Feb. 11, 2019: Family of Donald H. McClung files 15th lawsuit against Mount Carmel and Husel.
Feb. 12, 2019: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid announce they accepted Mount Carmel's corrective action plan.
- The family of Sanders Young, Jr. file the 16th lawsuit against Mount Carmel and Husel.
Feb. 19, 2019: Three more lawsuits are filed on behalf of the families of Michael Walters, Virginia Brokamp and Sherry White, bringing the total number of suits to 19.
Feb. 22, 2019: Mount Carmel announces the number of patients affected by "excessive" dosing had increased to 35, and that life-saving measures had not yet been exhausted for at least five of those patients.
- Husel's legal team requests a hearing before the State Medical Board to appeal the suspension and possible permanent revocation of his license.
- The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid inform Mount Carmel West and St. Ann's that they are still non-compliant with requirements.
March 1, 2019: Family of Sandra Castle files 23rd lawsuit against Mount Carmel and Husel.
March 8, 2019: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, along with the Ohio Department of Health, visit Mount Carmel West to complete a full survey of conditions.
March 12, 2019: Family of Peggy Francies files 24th lawsuit against Mount Carmel and Husel.
March 13, 2019: Mount Carmel Health System releases statement saying it reported 48 employees to state nursing and pharmaceutical boards, 18 of whom have left the hospital.
- Mount Carmel West also announces it placed all clinical leadership on administrative leave, and named interim leadership to replace them.
March 14, 2019: Ohio Board Of Nursing announces it issued citations to 25 nurses for their involement in "excessive" dosing of patients. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost says he will litigate the hearings.
March 15, 2019: Ohio Department of Health conducts additional survey of Mount Carmel West and St. Ann's hospitals on behalf of CMS.
March 27, 2019: The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid clears Mount Carmel West's pharmacy services but identifies several building and safety issues.
- Cleveland Clinic, where Husel worked as a supervised resident from 2008-2013, said an internal review found no concerns or complaints about Husel during his time there.
April 17, 2019: Mount Carmel settles three lawsuits filed by families of Husel's patients.
April 18, 2019: The law firm Leeseberg & Valentine says it rejected a settlement offer from Mount Carmel and will begin the discovery process for its own investigation.
April 23, 2019: The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid confirms it has accepted a corrective plan from Mount Carmel St. Ann's to fix problems with its "physical environment."
June 5, 2019: Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien announces Husel will be charged with 25 counts of murder.
- Husel surrenders to Columbus Police just before the charges against him are announced.
- Husel pleads not guilty to all the charges in his first court appearance.
June 7, 2019: Husel makes bail. His lawyer argues he is not a flight risk.
June 18, 2019: Mount Carmel West announces its corrective action plan was accepted by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.
July 11, 2019: Mount Carmel Health System CEO Ed Lamb announces his resignation, effective July 25. The hospital also announces it has fired 23 employees, including five members of the management team.
- The hospital also says Chief Clinical Officer Richard Streck will retire at the end of September.
July 18, 2019: Mount Carmel Health System names Michael Englehart, a senior VP at parent company Trinity Health, as its interim CEO.
Aug. 28, 2019: Judge sets May 28, 2020 date for jury selection in Husel's criminal trial.
- Jose Baez, a Florida-based attorney known for defending Casey Anthony, joins Husel's legal team with Columbus lawyer Diane Menashe.
Dec. 12, 2019: A Franklin County judge denies Husel's request to pause more than a dozen civil lawsuits.
Dec. 19, 2019: Ten former Mount Carmel employees file a lawsuit against the hospital, defending Husel's actiosn and criticizing the health system's response as based in "fear."
Dec. 26, 2019: William Husel sues Mount Carmel Health System for defamation and breach of contract.
Jan. 8, 2020: Federal judge denies Husel's attempt to force Trinity Health to pay his legal defense fees.
Jan. 22, 2020: Ohio Board Of Nursing begins expert testimony in disciplinary cases for Mount Carmel nurses.
March 4, 2020: Mount Carmel settles with the Ohio Board of Pharmacy for nearly $480,000.
March 9, 2020: Trinity Health names Lorraine Lutton as the new CEO of Mount Carmel Health System.
March 27, 2020: Judge and attorneys decide to push Husel's trial back from June 1 to an undetermined date, due to coronavirus concerns. Another call is scheduled for April 24 to pick a date.
April 20, 2020: A Franklin County judge has rescheduled Husel's criminal trial for May 10, 2021, due to ongoing changes in court operations during the coronavirus crisis.
December 1, 2021: Husel's legal team asked that the murder indictment thrown out. They argued that former Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien committed misconduct by keeping evidence from a grand jury.
December 3, 2021: Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Michael Holbrook denied a request from former Mount Carmel doctor William Husel to dismiss the 25-count murder indictment against him. The ruling means the case is on schedule to go to trial in February.
January 20, 2022: Franklin County Common Pleas Court Michael Holbrook dismissed 11 of the 25 charges filed against former Mount Carmel doctor William Husel after a request was made by Franklin County prosecutors.
February 16, 2022: A jury of five men and seven women was selected for the trial.
February 22, 2022: The trial begins more than three years after Husel was fired.
March 30, 2022: The prosecution rests its case. The prosecution called 50 witnesses to testify against Husel, including family members of the victims, pharmacists and nurses at Mount Carmel West Hospital who worked with Husel, an anesthesiologist and medical experts.
March 31, 2022: Defense rests case in William Husel murder trial after calling Dr. Joel Zivot, an anesthesiologist and intensive care specialist at Emory University in Atlanta.
April 7, 2022: An affidavit was filed with the Ohio Supreme Court to have Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook disqualified from the case.
April 11, 2022: Closing arguments started following at 12-day delay.
April 12, 2022: The jury started deliberations in the case.
April 18, 2022: Jury reports to Judge Horton that they were deadlocked at an impasse after four days of deliberation. Judge Michael Holbrook told the jury to break for lunch and continue deliberating.
April 20, 2022: Husel found not guilty on all 14 murder charges by the jury.
If you have information to share about the Mount Carmel investigation, please contact WOSU at paige.pfleger@wosu.org.
