Dani Schofield nursed patients in pain. Police claim she was making them worse.

36-year-old Dani Schofield was an ICU nurse, looking after her hospital's most vulnerable patients.

Now she's accused of swapping out their medication for "theft" motives.

Schofield worked at the Asante Rogue Regional Medical Centre in Oregon, America.

Between July 2022 and July 2023, it's alleged that Schofield replaced liquid fentanyl for 44 patients with tap water, which led to infections in those patients, per Medford Police. They claim that Schofield was stealing the medication for "personal use".

Out of the 44 patients that the hospital has identified as having their pain medication swapped, 16 died. It hasn't been proven that it was because of the infections caused by the water.

Watch: the case explained here. Post continues below.

The case against nurse Dani Schofield.

After a seven-month investigation, Schofield was arrested in June.

The police inquiry began in December 2023, when the Asante Rogue Regional Medical Centre in Oregon flagged their concerns that drugs for their patients may have been diverted.

The 36-year-old has pleaded not guilty in court to second-degree assault for each of the 44 patients.

Her request for a court-appointed attorney was recommended to be rejected, based on her assets. Her bail was set at $4 million.

For the patients whose pain medication wasn't administered to them, they are said to have experienced severe "bacterial infections".

Where the alleged attacks occurred. Image: AAP.

Back in February this year, a second lawsuit, this time a civil one, was filed against Schofield, per The Independent.

It claims that Schofield is responsible for the wrongful death of Horace Wilson, 65, in February 2022. The suit argued that fentanyl intended for Wilson was replaced with tap water, leading to an infection that resulted in his death within a month of him being admitted following a fall.

Schofield has denied those allegations.

A third lawsuit emerges, against Asante Rogue Regional Medical Centre.

Now months on from Schofield's arrest and charges, the Asante Rogue Regional Medical Centre in Oregon has been hit with an almost $450 million lawsuit (approx. in AUD).

The complaint was filed by 18 former patients. Nurse Schofield is not named in this lawsuit.

In the complaint as per KDRV, the patients have accused the medical centre of negligence for failing to "adequately screen and monitor" employees for drug diversion, and failing to "adequately train and monitor" their employees to "maintain protocols".

In this complaint, it's also alleged that Schofield used "non-sterile needles" on the patients in hospital.

"All plaintiffs suffered pain they say they otherwise would not have suffered and for durations of time that they would not have otherwise had to endure," the document reads.

"Defendant Asante knew or should have known of the high likelihood of drug misuse by its employees given that Asante has had repeated drug misuse by its employees in the past."

Out of the 18 plaintiffs that filed complaints, nine of them are listed as having since died. It is not yet proven that their deaths are because of the infections caused by the water.

The minimum for second-degree assault is 70 months behind bars, per assault count.

The Oregon community has been left shocked by the case.

Feature Image: Jackson County District Attorney's Office.