An Oregon hospital faces a $303 million lawsuit from former patients of a nurse accused of substituting intravenous fentanyl drips with tap water, leading to bacterial infections and several fatalities, per a legal filing.

The lawsuit, obtained by YSL News, involves 18 plaintiffs previously treated at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford, Oregon. The hospital is charged with “negligence” concerning a former nurse described as “prone to drug misuse,” according to a complaint filed Tuesday in Jackson County Circuit Court.

“This should never have happened,” stated Shayla Steyart, the attorney representing the patients, speaking with YSL News on Wednesday. “We hope the hospital will take this issue seriously to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Our goal is justice for our clients and their families.”

Among the plaintiffs, half are reported as “deceased.” The hospital began notifying patients about the nurse’s actions in December 2023, as stated in the legal complaint.

“All Plaintiff Patients endured pain that they should not have had to experience and for durations longer than necessary,” the lawsuit claims.

Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center declined to comment on the lawsuit when reached for a statement by YSL News on Wednesday.

Dani Marie Schofield faces 44 counts of second-degree assault

Dani Marie Schofield, a 36-year-old former nurse at Asante, was indicted on June 12 on 44 counts of second-degree assault, according to a news release from the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office. The charges arise from a police investigation into the theft and misuse of controlled substances that resulted in severe infections among patients at the hospital between July 2022 and July 2023.

The District Attorney’s office began reviewing the investigation’s findings in early April. This involved interviewing numerous witnesses and examining thousands of records, prosecutors noted.

“The state must establish that the actions of the accused directly caused the victim’s death,” the DA’s office explained in its release. “Investigators consulted with various medical experts who agreed that they could not definitively say any of the patient deaths were directly linked to the infections.”

Schofield pleaded not guilty during her arraignment on June 14, as reported by the Oregonian. She is not included in the $303 million lawsuit, but faces a separate civil suit filed by the estate of 65-year-old Horace E. Wilson, according to reports.

Estate of deceased patient sues Oregon nurse

Wilson, a 65-year-old cannabis company founder in Jacksonville, Oregon, passed away in February 2022 after receiving treatment at Asante. He was hospitalized after an accident that caused a spleen injury, which was later removed, as per the $11.5 million civil complaint reviewed by the Oregonian.

Following Wilson’s treatment, doctors raised concerns when he experienced “unexplained high fevers, very high white blood cell counts, and a sharp decline in health,” according to court documents reviewed by the Oregonian. Lab tests revealed Wilson had Staphylococcus epidermidis, a resistant bacterial infection. He succumbed to multi-system organ failure weeks later, as outlined in the lawsuit, according to the Oregonian.

YSL News attempted to reach Schofield’s defense attorneys for a comment on Wednesday, but did not receive a reply.