Dozens of patients who were accidentally treated with tainted surgical instruments at Duke University Health System hospitals in 2004 filed a civil suit Tuesday in Durham against the companies contracted by the University to sterilize the equipment.
In November and December 2004, DUHS physicians operated on more than 3,600 patients using instruments mistakenly cleaned with hydraulic fluid. The fluid was drained from an elevator and unintentionally sent to Durham Regional Hospital and Duke Health Raleigh Hospital for use as detergent.
The 67 plaintiffs-a group composed of patients and their spouses-accused medical supply companies Cardinal Health 200 and Steris Corporation of corporate negligence, unfair and deceptive trade practices and obstruction of justice in concert with DUHS, according to the suit. Cardinal Health sold the University the cleaning materials manufactured by Steris Corp. in 2004.
A representative of Cardinal Health declined to comment, citing company policy, and Steris Corp. officials could not be reached for comment.
The University settled out of court with an undisclosed number of patients exposed to the hydraulic fluid for an undisclosed amount in April, ABC Eyewitness News reported. Terms of the settlement have been kept confidential.
The patients filing the suit seek more than $30,000 each from the companies in compensatory, punitive and treble damages, according to the suit. Additionally, the plaintiff spouses are entitled to $10,000 in damages, lawyers wrote in the suit.
DUHS sent patients a letter in December 2004 stating that the risks of exposure to hydraulic fluid were minimal and emphasizing that the tainted instruments were subsequently sterilized as part of the standard cleaning process prior to the operations.
Patients exposed to the hydraulic fluid have reported health problems including debilitating infections, rapid weight loss and skin rashes. An independent study conducted in July 2005 found cancer-causing particles and metals in the hydraulic fluid.
In 2007, however, a University-commissioned study by PharmaLinkFHI-a Durham-based private health research firm-found that almost 90 percent of the affected patients did not suffer any serious clinical problems.
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