Mass General Brigham's Salem Hospital in Massachusetts is facing a class action lawsuit after it was announced last week that 450 patients may have been exposed to the HIV or hepatitis viruses while getting intravenous medications.
The lawsuit, filed against the hospital and 10 employees by the New England Keches Law Group firm on behalf of client Melinda Cashman, accuses the hospital and its employees of exposing potentially hundreds of patients to HIV and the hepatitis B and C viruses through "negligent" administration of intravenous medications that "fell beneath applicable standards of care."
"Our client deserves to have someone take responsibility for years of negligence," firm attorney Jonathan Sweet said in a press release announcing the lawsuit Friday. "We want victims of this tragedy to know that we are fighting for them and that the people who wronged them need to be held accountable."
According to the release, patients receiving an endoscopy, a procedure that places a tube-like instrument with a camera inside of the body for a variety of tests, were exposed to the viruses between 2021 and 2023.
The suit is seeking "answers as to how and why this happened for such an extended period of time and why it took so long for the hospital to discover such a catastrophic and ongoing mistake, and assurances that this will never happen to these or any other patients again."
ABC News in Boston reported that the hospital said in a statement that it is working with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health since a review found the possible exposure risk.
"We have determined that the infection risk to patients from this event is extremely small," the statement said. "Salem Hospital has notified all potentially impacted patients, set up a clinician-staffed hotline to answer questions, and we are providing them with free screening and any necessary support. There is no evidence to date of any infections resulting from this incident."
The DPH told the news outlet it performed an onsite investigation and worked with the infection control team to mitigate the issue.
"DPH advised the hospital to notify all impacted patients in writing about the potential exposure to bloodborne pathogens and to offer free-of-charge follow-up care, including testing," the agency said in the report.
The hospital is currently testing for infections from those viruses.
"The hospital is a place you go to heal. It's an institution that you put your complete trust in," firm attorney Jeff Catalano said in the release. "For Melinda and all the other victims, what they need now is to see some responsibility taken, so they can all move on, and this kind of thing cannot happen again."
Charles Kim ✉
Charles Kim, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years in reporting on news and politics.
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