Patients join class action suit against Cardinal Health
July 14th, 2008 joshua
Patients who underwent surgery at two Duke University hospitals in North Carolina have filed a class action lawsuit against Cardinal Health and a cleaning-materials compnay.
The suit alleges the companies were responsible for the contamination of surgical equipment used at these hospitals in 2004.
It’s believed the cleaning supplies company sold the pair of Duke hospitals barrels of hydraulic fluid rather than soap. Doctors performing surgeries used this mis-marked fluid to “clean” surgical equipment.
At least 4,000 surgeries were performed before doctors at the hospital realized the error.
So far, 67 patients have joined the suit. Plaintiffs in the case said the barrels once contained the proper cleaning soap, but were used to discard used hydraulic fluids during an elevator repair.
Cardinal Health failed to respond to an interview request from The Columbus Dispatch.
