Oregon patient, 65, dies after nurse 'replaced his fentanyl IV drip with TAP WATER' as his family launch $11.5M wrongful death lawsuit

A man in Oregon died after a nurse swapped his fentanyl IV drip with non-sterile tap water, a wrongful death lawsuit brought by his family alleges.

Horace Wilson, who was 65 at the time of his death, had fallen from a 10-foot ladder and admitted to the hospital on January 27, 2022.

Physicians performed a splenectomy on Wilson, and from January 29 to February 2, he appeared to improving and had his breathing tube removed.

But within days of his operation at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center, his condition took a 'turn for the worse,' which the lawsuit alleges was caused by former nurse Dani Marie Schofield giving him water. 

The tap water reintroduced staphylococcus epidermidis - an infection-causing bacteria - into Wilson's bloodstream, which, the suit says, 'became essentially impossible to eradicate.' 

Wilson's condition deteriorated quickly.

Horace Wilson, 65, was recovering in Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center, before a nurse replaced the fentanyl in his IV drip with water, his family alleges in a new lawsuit.

Only a month after first being admitted to Asante (pictured above), Horace Wilson died.

According to the suit, the diluted IV drip reintroduced harmful bacterium into Wilson's blood, causing his condition to decline precipitously.

By February 9, he exhibited 'multiple clear markers of suffering from an infection,' and experienced high temperatures and persistent hypotension, 'a hallmark of a state of sepsis.

His state worsened, culminating in 'multi-system organ failure' and sepsis-induced brain dysfunction, and on February 25, after roughly a month in Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center, Horace Wilson died. 

Before he died, Wilson recovered enough cognitive function to tell the ICU staff that he 'no longer wished to live this way,' the lawsuit states.

Wilson's death might have been the consequence of a larger trend of suspected fentanyl theft at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center.

The hospital contacted the Medford Police Department in December 2023 that they suspected a former employee was involved in stealing fentanyl prescribed to patients, which resulted in some 'adverse patient outcomes.'

They also reached out to patients or their relatives, telling them that they believed their infections were caused by an employee who had been diverting drugs.

Before dying, Wilson told the ICU staff that he 'no longer wished to live this way.'

The Medford Police Department has launched an exhaustive investigation into the matter, interviewing hundreds of people and examining thousands of documents, including medical records.

Danie Marie Schofield has not been charged with any crime and continues to maintain her innocence, telling The Lund Report that 'the truth will, I'm sure, come out.' 

On November 22, 2023, Schofield and the Oregon Board of Nursing agreed to abstain from practice or to suspend her license 'pending the completion of an investigation,' the lawsuit reads.

Both Schofield and Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center are listed as defendants in the court documents.

Wilson's family is accusing the hospital of negligence, stating that the hospital either 'knew or should have known of the high likelihood of opioid diversion by one of its employees for their own use.'