FEBRUARY 24, 2015
(Bloomberg) -- Olympus Corp.’s U.S. unit was sued by a Los
Angeles hospital patient over contaminated endoscopes in what may the first
lawsuit following a fatal “superbug” outbreak linked to the devices.
The complaint by a Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center patient
was filed less than a week after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a
general health warning over the use of the medical technology.
Endoscopes, used to look inside the body, have been linked
to an outbreak of drug-resistant bacteria that’s killed at least two people at
the University of California at Los Angeles hospital.
Patient Aaron Young was exposed to a contaminated endoscope when
he underwent multiple procedures with the device in October and January,
according to his Feb. 23 complaint in state court in Los Angeles.
Olympus, the world’s biggest maker of endoscopes, was blamed
in the lawsuit for failing to provide doctors and hospitals with instructions
on how to properly sanitize the device.
Cleaning, Disinfecting
The company’s Q180V Scope device requires cleaning and
disinfecting before it can be used on a new patient. After the product was
redesigned in 2014, the company provided hospitals and doctors with a safety
cleaning protocol for an older endoscope that had a significantly different
design, according to the lawsuit.
The older cleaning process wasn’t effective in removing all
residual body fluids and organic debris, Young alleged.
The outbreak at UCLA is linked to specialized endoscopes
inserted through a patient’s mouth and threaded through the gastrointestinal
tracts. The hospital has notified 179 patients who may be at risk.
Mark Miller, a spokesman for Shinjuku-Ku, Japan-based
Olympus, didn’t immediately respond to voice mail and e-mail messages seeking
comment on the complaint.
The complaint names the company and three members of its
endoscopy team for the greater Los Angeles area as defendants.
The case is Young v. Olympus Corp. of the Americas,
BC573399, California Superior Court, Los Angeles County.
Source: Bloomberg