Judge issues gag order as Husel defamation suit against Mount Carmel nears trial (2025)

A Franklin County judge has issued a gag order for the attorneys for a former Mount Carmel doctor and the hospital system he is suing for defamation in advance of an upcoming civil trial.

Common Pleas Court Judge Stephen McIntosh issued the order verbally on April 28 after hearing arguments from both sides. The judge filed the written order on May 7.

Former Mount Carmel doctor William Husel is suing Mount Carmel Health System, its Michigan-based parent company Trinity Health Corporation, and former Mount Carmel CEO Edward Lamb for defamation. The case is set for trial in June.

In 2019, Huselfaced more than two dozen counts of murderafter prosecutors said he caused the overdose deaths of patients in the intensive care unit at then-Mount Carmel West Hospital. Husel's attorneys said he had been providing comfort care to patients who were dying. Husel went on trial in 2022 on 14 counts, and a jury eventually acquitted him.

On April 25, attorneys for the hospitals requested a conversation with McIntosh, who will preside over the civil trial, "to address the significant publicity surrounding the trial, including Plaintiff’s deliberate efforts to taint the jury pool with an improper public relations campaign."

McIntosh's order bars attorneys in the case, or people working on the attorneys' behalf, from talking to the media about the case.

What led to gag order in William Husel's defamation case?

Attorneys for Husel planned to meet with The Dispatch on April 28 to discuss Husel's lawsuit and the "manipulated media coverage" and "weaponized misinformation" that played a key role in the case.

Prior to that meeting, The Dispatch had reached out to attorneys for the hospital system to request a similar sit-down.

Attorneys for Husel filed a request on April 11 asking the judge to allow them to bring their own cameras into the courtroom for live streaming. In the filing, Husel's attorneys called the case "one of the most egregious cases of defamation in our nation's history."

Additionally, awebsite launched on April 21called "The Trinity Files" claims to provide evidence of the "sophisticated campaign of false and misleading information." The website says it is being "curated by friends and supporters" of Husel "for educational purposes." A link to the website andan X postwere sent to a Dispatch reporter via an anonymous email associated with the site.

Attorneys for the hospital system filed subpoenas for information on who created the site, according to court records.

The website has not been updated since the April 28 order but has remained active online as of May 8. The X account has been updated regularly, with the most recent post at 12:19 p.m. on May 7, about five hours before McIntosh filed the gag order.

What does the gag order say?

The order filed by McIntosh contains several requirements that are standard in high-profile trials. These include barring anyone from intentionally filming or photographing jurors within 300 feet of the courthouse complex and prohibiting anyone from wearing buttons or clothing with messages related to the case, Husel, or the hospital system in the courthouse.

The specific gag order provision bars any of the parties, including the hospital system, Lamb and Husel, their attorneys, employees of the attorneys, or possible witnesses in the case, from "any further communication with the media in any medium" about the case.

"This would included (sic) but is not limited to interviews, publicly supporting websites or blogs, posting on any sites information about the case or trial proceedings," the order says.

Why is William Husel suing Mount Carmel Health System?

Huselfiled a defamation suit against the hospital system and Lamb in 2019,saying that a coordinated and intentional public relations campaign had villainized his medical practice. In court filings, the hospital system said that the statements they made in press releases and other means were factual and/or opinions and not defamatory.

Husel is seeking more than $18 million in damages from the defamation suit, according to filings by his attorneys, based on what he estimates his lost earnings throughout his remaining career would have totaled. He is also seeking damages for what he and his attorneys have called in court filings the traumatic effects of the public villainization, criminal trial and publicity.

In a 2023 deposition, Husel described having claustrophobia, fears of his children being bullied because of his notoriety, insomnia, anxiety and depression. Husel testified that he was not taking any medications or seeing any doctor for those conditions.

Husel also said he and his family were financially devastated by the allegations against him. He said he and his wife had to sell their Liberty Township home, had a car repossessed, cash-in his retirement plans, and sell furniture and other possessions. Husel said he, his wife, and their three children were living with his in-laws and on food stamps.

When asked in the deposition if he was working, Husel said he had consulted for Jose Baez, theFlorida-based attorney who represented Husel at his 2022 criminal trial,and had attempted to get jobs. He said he owed Baez, at that time, about $1.5 million in legal fees. Husel also said he hopes he can practice medicine again in another state.

Husel ultimately stood trial on 14 counts of murder related to the care of intensive care patients at the former Mount Carmel West hospital. Husel ordered doses of fentanyl that ranged between 500 micrograms of fentanyl and 2,000 micrograms, according to trial testimony.

Husel's criminal attorneys argued the doses were comfort care given to patients who were actively dying and had been withdrawn from life support measures. The Franklin County Prosecutor's office argued the doses were intentionally higher than what was needed for the situation and hastened the deaths of the patients.

In April 2022, a Franklin County jury found Husel not guilty of all 14 counts. In May of that same year, Husel voluntarily surrendered his medical license, which was then permanently revoked by the State Medical Board of Ohio.

Families of nearly 30 people who died while in Husel's care filed lawsuits against the former doctor and the hospital after learning about the doses from the hospital. Those lawsuits were all settled.

Who are the attorneys in the William Husel defamation case?

Husel is being represented in the civil case by the self-described "boutique" law firm of Ford, O'Brien Landy LLP, which has offices in New York, Austin and Miami, with the assistance of Columbus-based attorney Douglas Graff, according to the legal filings in the case.

The national firm currently represents Eduard Khudainatov, the former CEO of a Russian oil company who says he is the rightful owner of the Amadea, a $325-million super yacht that has been the center of a legal battle regarding sanctions placed by the U.S. government on suspected oligarchs with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The law firm also represented Manuel Chang, the former Financial Minister of Mozambique, who was sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $7 million accumulated through wire fraud.

The hospital system is represented by Miller Law, a Michigan-based firm that has represented former University of Michigan students insuing the university related to allegations of sexual abuseby former university doctor Robert Anderson. The firm has also represented patients in data breaches related to Michigan hospitals. Sam Endicott with BakerHostetler in Columbus is assisting Miller Law.

Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@gannett.com or on Bluesky at @bethanybruner.dispatch.com.