Dive Brief:
- In a claim filed on Monday in King County Superior Court in Washington, Virginia Mason Medical Center has joined forces with the family of a patient to accuse Olympus Corp. of selling defective duodenoscopes.
- The hospital said over a two-year period it had a superbug outbreak that affected 39 patients, despite meticulous cleaning of the scopes that followed Olympus' instructions.
- There was a similar outbreak in the Netherlands in 2012, after which Olympus issued a safety alert to European hospitals; no such alert was issued in the U.S. until February of 2015.
Dive Insight:
Dr. Andrew Ross, section chief for gastroenterology at Virginia Mason, told the LA Times that Olympus' failure to notify hospitals about the risks associated with the scopes was "unethical, irresponsible and dangerous," and that it "showed a reckless disregard for patient safety."
An Olympus spokesperson expressed sympathy for those who were affected and their families. "We are continuing our investigation into the reports at Virginia Mason to be able to provide a more thorough and balanced perspective on the issues including potential causes of the infections," the spokesperson said.