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Family Of Nursing Home Resident Who Died From Morphine Overdose To File Lawsuit

(CBS) -- The nurse who was allegedly the only nurse on duty the night an elderly woman died of an overdose of morphine has denied giving morphine to her.

Attorneys for the family plan to file a civil suit against the nursing home, reports CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker.

In a video deposition, Talisha Lillard denies any involvement in the death of 98-year-old Dorothy Byrd. Byrd was a resident at Holland Homes Assisted Living where Lillard was a nurse.

"I do not know how she received morphine," Lillard said.

Last February, Byrd was one of six seniors from Holland rushed to the hospital with morphine in their systems. Byrd was the only one who died from an overdose.

"The morphine was in the drawer. In the deposition, she stated that she saw it and knew where it was located. She had access," said Byrd's daughter, Sandra Byrd-Peterson.

Lawyers for Byrd's daughter plan to file a lawsuit against Lillard and Holland Homes Wednesday. It accuses Holland of negligence in Byrd's death, noting Lillard had only worked at the facility nine shifts, had an expired nurse's license and received inadequate training.

In a telephone conversation, Lillard's attorney says his client had no motive to administer Byrd morphine. According to the lawsuit, the motive was to ease her workload.

"They would have been no trouble to any nurse because they would have been sleeping," said attorney Tom Paris.

"I want to see justice," Sandra Byrd-Peterson. "I want to see someone accountable for my mother's death."

CBS 2 reached out to the CEO of Holland and received a statement that says "From the beginning, we have taken this situation extremely seriously and have fully cooperated with investigating authorities."

Byrd's daughter says she is still waiting for answers from authorities.

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