Hawkesbury doctor acquitted of murder files $20M lawsuit against hospital, staff members

Court documents are detailing for the first time the series of events that led to Hawkesbury doctor Brian Nadler being charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of four of his patients—charges he was acquitted of this week.

The information is included in a statement of claim filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in 2023.

Nadler, along with his mother and sister, has launched a $20 million lawsuit against the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital and several staff members, including the hospital's CEO, chief of staff, a nurse and chief of general medicine at the time.

The documents state shortly after midnight on March 25, 2021  a nurse set off the "series of events" that led to the charges when she allegedly told hospital staff that "Dr. Nadler was preventing anyone from entering" a patient's room and that he was "prescribing and/or administering lethal doses of medication."

The chief of staff is also alleged to have said Nadler locked the door to the room.

Nadler's statement of claim says the accusation of him preventing anyone from accessing a patient room was "transparently false," adding hospital security guards could have been mobilized if needed. It says he was "not given an opportunity to explain any treatment decisions."

Later, the document details how the physician chief of staff "called 911 and reported that Dr. Nadler had murdered patients and was in the process of murdering another."

"Not one of them [the defendants], went to assess the patients being treated by Dr. Nadler. Not one of them attempted to reverse any medication Dr. Nadler had prescribed," the document states. "None of these defendants mentioned to Dr. Nadler's supervising physicians that there were any issues or concerns regarding the treatments he provided to these patients."

Nadler has maintained his innocence, said his patients died from COVID-19 and that he was providing appropriate palliative care.

Nadler was also charged with and acquitted of four counts of criminal negligence causing death.

The lawsuit is seeking damages for "defamation, abuse of process, conspiracy and wrongful dismissal."

"He and his family have suffered from the extreme stigma and hardship of having to live under the burden of responding to these charges," the document states.

Hospital's response

In their statement of defence, the hospital and other defendants "deny each allegation contained in the statement of claim."

They say Nadler "began to exhibit concerning behavior" when the physician was moved to the wing of the hospital where patients who tested positive for COVID-19 were being treated in March 2021.

"He was reportedly not sleeping or eating. He sent bizarre and troubling emails to physicians. His communications seemed paranoid and grandiose. A colleague reported that he seemed to have pressured speech and was crying," the statement of defence states.

It goes on to claim Nadler had had mental health issues in the past and when they met some leaders met with him to see if he needed rest or whether others should assume a portion of his patient load, Nadler reassured them and denied offers of assistance.

In response to the events of March 25, 2021, the statement of defence said they received information that Nadler was "ordering excessive amounts of potentially lethal medications for patients, communicating aggressively with nursing staff, administering medications himself and refusing to allow nursing staff access to a patient room."

Nadler's statement of claim says Nadler had raised concerns with the hospital about it breaking provincial COVID-19 protocols.

In response, the hospital said it did not "orchestrate a campaign to harm him in any way as a result of alleged disagreements about isolation protocols" and that it "did not place financial considerations about patient safety."

None of the allegations made by either party has been tested in court. Hawkesbury and District General hospital said it would not comment on the matter.