What Happened
Attorneys representing living and deceased patients filed a $303 million wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuit against an Oregon hospital after a former nurse was accused of replacing prescribed fentanyl with nonsterile tap water in intravenous drips.
The complaint accuses the hospital of negligence and failing to monitor medication administration and prevent drug diversion by employees. Police began investigating after hospital officials noticed a spike in central line infections and said they believed an employee had been diverting fentanyl; the former nurse was arrested in June and charged with 44 counts of second-degree assault and has pleaded not guilty.
What the Record Shows
civil wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuit filed against the hospital; the former nurse was arrested in June and charged with 44 counts of second-degree assault and has pleaded not guilty
Why It Matters for Diversion Programs
This entry comes from a news source rather than a federal enforcement release, and it is recorded as reported: accused of replacing prescribed fentanyl with nonsterile tap water in intravenous drips; police investigation into theft and misuse of controlled substances that resulted in patient infections; hospital officials believed an employee had been diverting fentanyl. Board and news records are a lagging indicator - by the time a licensing authority or a reporter learns of a diversion, the diversion was normally detected internally first, which makes each entry a signal that inventory reconciliation, waste observation or dispensing oversight failed earlier.