A military judge has acquitted an Air Force nurse of killing three terminally ill patients at Wilford Hall.
Capt. Michael Fontana was accused of failing to follow doctors' orders and giving three terminally ill patients excessive medication causing them to die.
Attorneys for Fontana said the dosages fell within Air Force guidelines, and that Wilford Hall doctors gave misleading and vague orders.
"I think it is just the natural human conscious to point the finger, and it's in my direction right now," said Fontana.
Dr. Robert l. Fine, MD, a renowned expert in hospice care, testified during the trial the medication given by Fontana did not cause the the death of Silvestra Orosco, 83, Ordie Despain, 87, or Dorothy Gray, 74.
Fontana's attorney, Elizabeth Higginbotham, said she believes there will be other nurses and doctors used as scapegoats to cover-up what she said is the real problem at Wilford Hall.
“The real problem was they weren't following the law with regard to the Natural Death Act,” said Higginbotham. “Patients were taken off life support when they were not qualified."
The 59th Medical Wing issued the following statement:
After listening to all of the evidence in the case of US v. Fontana, the military judge returned a verdict of not guilty on all the charges and specifications.
Essential to the handling of this trial is our responsibility to provide transparency of the process when we uncover possible criminal conduct on the part of one of our personnel. Recognizing this desire for transparency, the health and well-being of our patients is the number one priority of the Wilford Hall Medical Center team - as it has been for decades of service here in San Antonio and in deployed locations around the world. We are committed to providing the highest level of healthcare to our patients.
In this case, our medical professionals had reason to believe that criminal misconduct had occurred. The appropriate authorities were notified. They in turn conducted an investigation, which ultimately resulted in charges being referred to a court-martial.
The military justice system requires the highest level of proof known to the law.
After hearing the witnesses' testimony and the evidence presented, the Military Judge found Capt Fontana not guilty of all charges and specifications. Based on the high standard of proof required in a court-martial, we have great confidence in our military justice system and we believe a fair verdict was reached today.
Now that the criminal process has concluded, we will proceed with an assessment of Capt Fontana's clinical competency, which evaluates the care provided using a different standard of proof than a criminal trial. This aspect of the clinical care evaluation had been placed on hold, pending resolution of the criminal case.
At the conclusion of this clinical evaluation, a determination will be made regarding this individual's competency to continue to serve as a nurse in the United States Air Force nurse corps.
