Former Mount Carmel West Hospital doctor William Husel is seeking $20 million in damages plus attorney fees from the hospital’s parent company, Michigan-based Trinity Health Corporation.
The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, calls Husel a doctor who, “prior to his termination, villainization in the press, arrest, indictment on 25 counts of murder, and eventual full acquittal — was a dedicated intensivist who worked an overnight shift in the ICU of Mount Carmel West Hospital for five years.”
The suit claims that Trinity knowingly provided inaccurate information when it sought Husel’s prosecution in a 2019 court case.
Husel was acquitted last year of multiple counts of intentional murder. He was accused of causing patients’ deaths by overprescribing fentanyl and other drugs. His attorneys argued that the palliative care that Husel provided to dying patients did not violate hospital policies or nationally accepted standards.
Eleven murder charges were dropped before he went to trial, and Husel was eventually acquitted of the remaining 14 charges.
Later, he surrendered his medical license before the state medical board permanently revoked it.
The new civil suit also alleges that Trinity Health used Husel's case to support a restrictive, religious approach to end-of-life care.
Trinity Health issued the following statement in response to the lawsuit: "The allegations are unfounded, and we will address the matter as appropriate through the legal process. As this is an active lawsuit, we have no further comment."
