Former Mount Carmel doctor William Husel continued to testify Tuesday in his defamation trial against his former employer Mount Carmel and its parent company, Trinity Health, describing how the case has affected him personally.
Husel said the health system defamed him during an investigation into how he was prescribing painkillers in the intensive care unit at Mount Carmel.
Husel was acquitted of more than a dozen murder charges in April of 2022.
During testimony in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday, Husel said when he went shopping after the charges made the news, a little boy recognized him.
"And then he looked at me and he said, 'You know, mommy there goes that bad guy on TV.' He pointed at me and then it's like he almost got kind of scared when he said that he wanted his mom to take him away from there," Husel said.
Husel said the same thing also happened at restaurants. "People just kept pointing at me and staring at me and saying, 'there's that Mount Carmel doctor that killed all those people.' It was just uncomfortable going out."
Husel said he'd even see reports about the case at the gym.
"I was on the news there while I was working out. It just felt really uncomfortable seeing my face on the news there, because everybody else... is gonna see me on the news there and see me at the gym," he said.
Husel was originally charged with 25 counts of murder. A judge later dropped the number to 14.
Husel said he was blindsided by the charges.
"They said that I intentionally administered lethal doses of the fentanyl. When I saw the word intentional, I was thinking, you know, why would I do CPR on someone, bring them back to life and save their life, then an hour later, intentionally kill them? Just didn't make any sense to me," he said.
Husel got emotional when he told the jury about a phone call from his lawyer.
"He said that 'the time has come.' He goes, 'they want you to turn yourself in tomorrow,'" said Husel, who began to cry.
Husel described what happened when he reported to jail.
"The guy slides me a piece of paper, and he goes, 'Twenty-five counts of murder, no bond.' And I think I didn't know all the legal stuff. And I thought when I heard the no bond, I thought, man, I'm never going to get out of here. I started thinking, I am never going to see my kids again," he said.
Lawyers for Mount Carmel questioned Husel about the Ohio Medical Board's decision to suspend his medical license in 2019, preventing him from practicing medicine in Ohio.
The attorneys also asked him about civil lawsuits filed against him where doctors said in depositions that they believed Husel's actions breached standards of care. They also asked him about media coverage of his case.
Husel described his life now saying that he doesn't practice medicine. He said he's a stay-at-home dad while his wife works full-time. Husel said he, his wife and their three kids all live with his in-laws.
Husel's attorney asked what he misses about his life before the charges were filed. "Just being a doctor, you know, that's my passion, (being) in the ICU. I enjoy taking care of people and helping people and I really thought I found my passion and that's what I miss most," he said.
Husel described how he'd been treated in public before the charges were filed against him, and said he was accused of being a serial killer after the charges were brought against him.
"When people would say, 'oh, are you a doctor,' I'd say, 'yeah.' Like, 'oh we really appreciate you, what you do for the community and helping people,'" Husel said. "And they'd say that someone in their family wants to be a doctor and all that. So I was just seen as a doctor, and I was respected, like a decent regular doctor."
