Seizures on the Night Shift

In four weeks, at least thirteen patients on the night shift of a small hospital's intensive care unit suffered violent seizures followed by heart and breathing failure. Nine died. One nurse was on duty every time. Prosecutors say he injected them with massive doses of lidocaine, a heart drug that is deadly in large amounts. Tissue tests found lidocaine, and syringes of super-strong lidocaine turned up at the hospital and his home. His experts say the patients were gravely ill and died of natural causes or drug reactions, and the lidocaine levels matched normal doses.