By: Ryan Poppe, KSTX 89.1 FM
Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Biohazard Gowns Used At Dallas Hospital Allowed Ebola To Pass Through
A lawsuit filed against the manufacturer of the surgical gowns used by staff at the Dallas hospital where nurses were infected with Ebola, alleges the company falsely claimed that Ebola and other infectious disease couldn’t penetrate their material. Texas Public Radio’s, Ryan Poppe, has more on the story.
A California surgeon has filed a $500 million federal class action lawsuit, claiming the Dallas-based Kimberley-Clarke Corporation made fraudulent claims after industry tests proved their “MICROCOOL Breathable High Performance Surgical Gown was not impermeable to diseases such as Ebola.
These are the same gowns used by staff at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, where nurses Nina Pham and Amber Vinson treated Liberia-born Thomas Eric Duncan for Ebola. Both Pham and Vinson later tested positive for the disease.
The lead attorney for the lawsuit, Michael Avenantti, said many individuals have contracted various diseases while wearing the gown.
AVENANTTI: “They have known that these gowns have failed that standard and they have known that since at least 2013, if not earlier. And yet, they have failed to do anything about it, failed to recall the gowns, failed to alert individuals at hospitals such as Presbyterian and others, and failed to take appropriate actions to protect healthcare workers and patients alike,” said Avenantti.
Avenantti said the lawsuit transcends Ebola, as the gowns have made healthcare workers vulnerable to other diseases, such as Hepatitis C. He said it was estimated that globally, Kimberly-Clark had sold tens-of-millions of these gowns with the same claims.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends healthcare workers treating patients with Ebola should wear a full-body biohazard suit, a piece of personal protective equipment many believe is vital to a caregiver’s safety, while treating the disease. RP TPR News]
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