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Plea deal may be in the works for former nurse accused of spreading Hepatitis C

Posted at 3:50 PM, Apr 01, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-01 17:51:03-04

SALT LAKE CITY — A plea deal may be in the works for a former nurse accused of spreading Hepatitis C to patients at a hospital.

In court documents obtained by FOX 13 on Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Dee Benson granted a delay in the upcoming trial for Elet Neilson. The judge said defense attorneys needed more time to review information from Ogden’s McKay-Dee Hospital, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The parties also need more time to complete plea negotiations,” the judge said in the order. “Those negotiations are complicated in Ms. Neilson’s case by the number of alleged victims and the wide variety of outcomes in diversion cases across the United States. If negotiations break down, both sides need more time to secure witnesses, file pretrial motions, draft proposed jury instructions and voir dire, and otherwise prepare for trial.”

Neilson’s trial has been moved to September now. She is accused of diverting IV pain medications at Davis Hospital and McKay-Dee Hospital and exposing patients to a strain of Hepatitis C. Federal prosecutors wrote in charging documents that at least seven patients at McKay-Dee Hospital were infected.