An investigation began in late December 2023 regarding a nurse in an Oregon hospital who allegedly injected patients with tap water instead of fentanyl, leading to serious infections from bacteria in the tap water and up to 10 patient deaths. A criminal investigation began into the incidents at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center where the patients died in the ICU after contracting pseudomonas in the tap water.
The hospital initially issued a short statement: “We were distressed to learn of this issue. We reported it to law enforcement and are working closely with them.”
Police are continuing with their investigation.
On December 11, 2023, the DEA announced that two former nurses in New Hampshire have been indicted in connection to the diversion of dangerous narcotics by medical professionals. Robin Nichols, 63, of Newbury, was indicted on one count of Tampering with Consumer Products and one count of Obtaining a Controlled Drug by Misrepresentation, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge. Lisa Richardson, 47, of Northfield, was indicted on one count of Tampering with Consumer Products and one count of Obtaining a Controlled Drug by Misrepresentation, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge.
According to the charging documents related to Robin Nichols, on April 15, 2023, while working as a nurse at Catholic Medical Center, Nichols removed a quantity of fentanyl, a narcotic painkiller drug in liquid form, from a syringe intended for an operating room patient and which she knew was intended for that patient and replaced the fentanyl with a quantity of saline.
According to the charging documents related to Lisa Richardson, on December 30, 2022, while working as a nurse at Concord Hospital, Richardson entered the room of a patient in the Intensive Care Unit (“ICU”) and removed a quantity of fentanyl, a narcotic painkiller drug in liquid form, from an intravenous line bag attached to the patient and which she knew was being dispensed to that patient, and replaced the fentanyl with a quantity of saline.
Nichols and Richardson’s charges of tampering with a consumer product provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of obtaining a controlled drug by misrepresentation, fraud, deception, or subterfuge provides for a sentence of up to 4 years in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
On November 15, 2023, the DEA announced that a former nurse was sentenced for diverting opioids from a Boston-area hospital. Andrea Falzano, 39, of Winchester, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to three months in prison and one year of supervised release. In August 2023, Falzano pleaded guilty to three counts of unlawfully obtaining controlled substances by fraud, deception, and subterfuge.
According to court documents, beginning in May 2019, Falzano used her capacity as a nurse in the emergency department at a Massachusetts based hospital to withdraw controlled substances from a locked drug cabinet. These substances included morphine, fentanyl and hydromorphone, all of which are opioids and Schedule II controlled substances. In total, Falzano withdrew these substances 412 times for 299 already discharged patients over an approximately five-month period. Negative drug tests uncovered during the investigation indicated that Falzano did not self-administer the drugs that she stole from the hospital at which she was employed, despite stating otherwise to her employer and the Board of Registration in Nursing. In statements to the Board, Falzano attempted to minimize her conduct by calling her theft of controlled substances an “isolated incident,” which it was not.
If you or a loved one may have been harmed as a result of the diversion of medication that occurred in a hospital in the United States, you should promptly find a medical malpractice lawyer in your state who may investigate your drug diversion malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a drug diversion case, if appropriate.
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