Duke, patients settle hydraulic fluid claims
Published: Thu, Jun. 19, 2008 12:30AM
Modified Thu, Jun. 19, 2008 05:38AM
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closeDuke University Health System has settled claims by patients who alleged they suffered health problems after being exposed to hydraulic fluid on surgical instruments at two Duke hospitals in 2004.
The settlement, which remains confidential, resolved claims against Duke by an unknown number of clients represented by HensonFuerst, a law firm with offices in Raleigh and Rocky Mount.
Both parties said in a statement that HensonFuerst and Duke University Health System "have resolved and settled without resort to litigation all claims" involving HensonFuerst clients against the health system and its constituent hospitals.
KEY EVENTS
JANUARY 2005: Duke University Health System hospitals in Durham and Raleigh tell more than 3,500 patients that they may have been operated on with surgical instruments mistakenly washed with used hydraulic fluid but say the patients should be in no danger.
APRIL 2005: A Harnett County man files a lawsuit against Automatic Elevator Co. of Durham and Cardinal Health Inc. of Dublin, Ohio, claiming hydraulic fuel on surgical instruments entered his system.
JUNE 2005: An investigation by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finds that Duke officials failed to heed complaints of employees over improperly sterilized tools and therefore delayed discovery of the error and needlessly exposed patients to potential harm. Dozens of patients report complications from surgeries. Duke offers consultations with two Duke specialists in occupational and environmental medicine.
JUNE 28, 2005: Duke releases findings from a chemical analysis that indicate patients were unlikely to be harmed by their exposure to the hydraulic fuel on surgical instruments.
JULY 2005: Duke officials admit that they erred in handling the exposure situation and that they should have moved faster to ease minds of patients.
AUGUST 2005: Duke says it will track patients exposed to tainted instruments and agrees to outsource the task to an independent group to avoid potential bias. A Superior Court judge rules that patients in question can seek high-dollar punitive damages.
SEPTEMBER 2005: Results from an independent laboratory say heavy metals that can cause cancer and microscopic particles of carbon and machinery metal were found in the hydraulic oil waste at Duke.
NOVEMBER 2005: Duke hires PharmaLinkFHI, an independent clinical research organization in Durham, to monitor the health of patients who were exposed to tainted surgical instruments.
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Meanwhile, dozens of patients who were exposed to the hydraulic fluid at Durham Regional and Duke Raleigh hospitals have sued the companies that contracted with Duke to sterilize the equipment.
In the suit filed Tuesday in Durham County Superior Court, 67 plaintiffs accuse Cardinal Health and Steris Corp. of actions including corporate negligence, unfair and deceptive trade practices and obstruction of justice.
Steris Corp., of Mentor, Ohio, made the sterilization washers used by the Durham and Raleigh hospitals to clean surgical equipment, as well as the detergent and other products used in the process, the suit says.
Cardinal Health of Dublin, Ohio, is a manufacturer and distributor of medical and surgical supplies. The lawsuit says the company sold and delivered cleaning products to the Raleigh and Durham hospitals. According to the suit, Cardinal employees missed several signs that the leftover barrels of hydraulic fluid should not have been returned to the company as detergent for resale. Individual employees of Cardinal were also named as defendants, but the suit said they acted within the scope of their employment.
A representative of Cardinal Health said Wednesday that the company does not comment on pending lawsuits. Steris Corp. did not return a call for comment.
According the lawsuit, the plaintiffs were patients of Durham Regional or Duke Raleigh hospitals during November and December 2004, when more than 3,600 patients were operated on with instruments mistakenly cleaned with used hydraulic fluid. The hydraulic fluid had been drained from an elevator and sent back to the hospitals for use as detergent.
Plaintiffs said they developed health problems, including infections, immune-system issues and inflammatory response problems. Some said they suffered loss of "consortium," a legal term often referring to a spouse's help, comfort or companionship.
The injuries caused the plaintiffs "great worry, anxiety, apprehension and emotional distress," the suit charges.
thomas.goldsmith@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-8929
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