|
 Aaron Young, an 18-year-old high school student who remains under
monitoring at a hospital fighting the severe infection, and the
family of Antonia Cerda sued Olympus Corp, which manufactured the
specialized scopes used during the outbreak at the UCLA Ronald
Reagan Medical Center.
The suit alleged that the company's reusable scope, also known as a
duodenoscope, was unsafe because the cleaning protocols for the
complex device were not updated following its recent redesign.
"Defendants continued to manufacture, sell, distribute, promote and
supply the Q180V Scope as to maximize sales and profits at the
expense of the health and safety of the public," the suit said.
Representatives for Olympus did not immediately return requests for
comment on the lawsuits.
Both suits seek unspecified damages alleging fraud and negligence on
the part of Olympus, and Cerda's also included injury and wrongful
death claims.
 The complaints said that medical staff followed the company's
cleaning guidelines before using the devices, but plaintiffs'
attorney Pete Kaufman said UCLA and the University of California
regents could be added as defendants after further investigation.
Kaufman also said more patients would likely join the suit.
Cerda, whose case was filed on Wednesday, was exposed to one of the
contaminated scopes as she underwent several procedures last
October.
Young, who filed suit on Monday, went to the medical center in
mid-2014 for a pancreatic ailment then became ill and was
hospitalized a short time later, said Kevin Boyle, an attorney on
his legal team. By November, he had been diagnosed with
carbapenem-resistant enterobacteria, or CRE, the attorney said.
[to top of second column] |
Seven patients were infected with CRE during endoscopies at the
large Los Angeles teaching hospital between Oct. 3 and Jan. 28, and
two died. Officials warned that as many as 179 people may have been
exposed to the so-called superbug.
Officials have said there is no broader threat to public health, and
that the hospital has called and sent letters to at-risk former
patients.
All five of the confirmed infected patients who remain alive are
under treatment, UCLA spokesman Enrique Rivero said on Wednesday.
The scopes, which are threaded through the mouth, throat and stomach
and used in a variety of gastrointestinal procedures, can be
difficult to disinfect properly, even when instructions provided by
the manufacturers are followed, the FDA has said.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Writing by Curtis Skinner)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
