Nurse drug diversion cases

402 documented cases, 1983–2026.

Figures are derived from the 931 case records collected on this site, not from any official total. A record counts here when its Role field, or failing that its title, names one of these roles: 100 from the Role field, 302 from the title.

Roles counted: Registered nurse (RN) (91) · Licensed practical / vocational nurse (22) · Nurse practitioner / APRN (15) · Nurse anesthetist (CRNA) (12) · Nurse (role unspecified) (262).

Monetary penalties stated

Median: $5,500
Smallest $500 · largest $4,500,000

Median of 37 amounts in US dollars (civil settlements and penalties, criminal fines, restitution, forfeiture) stated in 35 of 402 records. 367 records state no dollar amount.

Custodial sentences stated

Shortest: 3 months
Longest: 120 months (10 years)

63 prison or jail terms stated in 63 of 402 records. Probation, supervised release, home confinement and suspended terms are not counted.

Drug classes involved

Opioids285
Other controlled substance65
Benzodiazepines14
Stimulants8
Anesthetics / sedatives6
No drug stated44

A record naming drugs from two classes counts in both.

States with the most records

Massachusetts22
Iowa18
Michigan16
Connecticut15
Mississippi15
Wisconsin15
Oregon14
New Hampshire11

52 states and territories in all; every state.

Settings involved

Hospital / health system159
Other / not classified150
Long-term care25
Ambulatory surgery / OR9
Home health / hospice6
Fertility / reproductive2
Retail pharmacy1
No setting stated50

Other roles

Cases

Newest first · page 15 of 17, 351–375 of 402

  1. Mississippi registered nurse voluntarily surrendered license amid misappropriation and record-entry grounds 2015-10
  2. Mississippi registered nurse placed on 24-month restricted license over misappropriation ground 2015-10
  3. Mississippi licensed practical nurse's license revoked over misappropriation ground 2015-10
  4. Madison hospital nurse stole fentanyl vials 2015-08-19 · Madison, WI · Hospital / health system
  5. Southern Tier LPN Pleads Guilty to Diverting Percocet from Nursing Home Patients 2015-08-12 · Horseheads, NY · Long-term care
  6. Nurse at a medical center in Caliente investigated for unaccounted morphine; license revoked 2015-08 · Caliente, NV · Hospital / health system
  7. Hospital nurse diverted hydrocodone intended for a patient and falsified records 2015-06 · Parkersburg, WV · Hospital / health system
  8. Hospital nurse diverted fentanyl from secure medication management stations 2015-05 · Madison, WI · Hospital / health system
  9. New Hampshire practical nurse's license suspended on emergency basis after nursing home diversion allegations 2015-03-24 · Long-term care
  10. New Hampshire Practical Nurse Given Emergency Suspension Over Nursing Home Drug Diversion Allegations 2015-03-20 · Westmoreland, New Hampshire · Long-term care
  11. Louisiana registered nurse voluntarily surrendered license on charges of controlled-substance diversion and a positive for-cause drug screen 2015-01-14
  12. West Virginia Nurse Sentenced in Opioid Diversion Case (2015) 2015 · West Virginia · Other / not classified
  13. Delaware state hospital nurse charged with forging medication records to obtain oxycodone 2014-03-24 · Hospital / health system
  14. UW Hospital nurse charged in morphine and hydromorphone syringe diversion 2014-03 · Madison, WI · Hospital / health system
  15. Former nurse at Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill charged with forging controlled-substance records to divert oxycodone 2014-03 · Smyrna, DE · Hospital / health system
  16. Emergency room nurse sentenced for stealing prescription drugs from patient accounts via a hospital dispensing system 2014-03 · York, ME · Hospital / health system
  17. Delaware nurse suspended two years after unrecorded cabinet withdrawals and muscle-relaxant theft at a state prison 2013-11-07 · Hospital / health system
  18. Sweetbriar Assisted Living nurse sentenced for hydrocodone theft and falsifying records 2013-06 · Charleston, WV · Other / not classified
  19. Licensed practical nurse found to have ingested prescription medications and possessed Adavan at Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill 2013-04 · Hospital / health system
  20. Hospital Nurse Sentenced for Diverting Dilaudid, Causing Patient Infections — Minnesota, 2013 2013-03-20 · St. Cloud, Minnesota · Hospital / health system
  21. Mississippi registered nurse voluntarily surrendered license amid drug misappropriation ground 2012-07
  22. Mississippi licensed practical nurse given 12-month restricted license over drug possession and record falsification grounds 2012-07
  23. Nursing Home Nurse Sentenced for Tampering with a Dementia Patient's Morphine — Kansas, 2012 2012-02-03 · Topeka, Kansas · Other / not classified
  24. Nursing Facility Nurse Sentenced for Tampering with Patients' Morphine — Kansas, 2012 2012-01-24 · Salina, Kansas · Other / not classified
  25. Nurse Sentenced for Diverting Hydromorphone via Drug Cabinet Login Credentials — Minnesota, 2012 2012-01-20 · Minnesota · Hospital / health system

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Disclaimer

Case summaries are based on public records (DOJ press releases, court documents, licensing-board orders, news reports). Charges are allegations unless a conviction is noted. Analysis is educational, not legal advice.

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