COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Former Mount Carmel doctor William Husel's criminal trial is over, but that doesn't mean his time in court is done.
Husel and Mount Carmel still face 10 civil cases related to the deaths of patients under Husel’s care.
Gerry Leeseberg’s firm represents eight of the families in those civil cases. The cases, Leeseberg said, focus solely on negligence.
“Dr. Husel can no longer hide behind his Fifth Amendment assertion of right against self-incrimination,” Leeseberg said.
Leeseberg added he was not surprised Husel was acquitted on all 14 charges of murder.
What's next for him and his clients is forging ahead with civil cases. Leeseberg said Husel is scheduled for a deposition on May 9.
“Dr. Husel is going to have to defend what he did and explain what he did and not just sit back at the table and allow his lawyers to stand up and make arguments on his behalf,” Leeseberg said. “We call that lawyer talk — the time for lawyer talk is over. We look forward to deposing Dr. Husel.”
The civil cases will be jury trials, but they will have different expert witnesses from the ones who took the stand in the criminal trial, attempting to prove Husel did not follow accepted standards of medical practice, Leeseberg said.
“Our juries are going to hear a lot more interesting information about who Dr. Husel is, where he came from, where he’s been, and how he got to where he was, and what kind of a person he is so that they can look at his conduct in context,” he said.
Leeseberg says one of the 10 cases will be heard each month starting in June.
