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Goshen Hospital Patients File Lawsuit after “Sterilization Processes May Cause Infections”
Goshen Hospital patients who underwent surgery between the dates of April 1 and Sept. 30 may have been exposed to potentially serious diseases as a result of a recently discovered sterilization issue, hospital officials say.
In a letter to affected patients sent out earlier this month, Randy Christophel, president and CEO of Goshen Health, joined Daniel Nafziger, hospital chief medical officer, in announcing that between April 1 and Sept. 30, one of the hospital’s seven surgical instrument sterilization technicians failed to complete one of the necessary steps in the hospital’s multi-step sterilization process with certain surgical instruments, potentially exposing surgical patients to infections, such as the hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B virus and human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV.
A class action lawsuit was filed in response to the announcement. In the lawsuit, Plaintiff, Linda Gierek references the letter sent out by the hospital to a total of 1,182 surgical patents earlier this month who may have been exposed to a variety of serious diseases, such as hepatitis and HIV, as a result of the sterilization issue.
According to the lawsuit, a total of three counts are facing Goshen Hospital. They are: negligent infliction of emotional distress; negligence; and medical malpractice. The lawsuit also notes that Gierek will be seeking a trial by jury.