Class Action Suit Filed Against Children’s Hospital

Lucas Johnson, Staff Writer

A new class-action was filed against Seattle Children’s Hospital; the hospital is largely the reason for this case but that combined with the “cover- up” and the unfortunate deaths because of their actions are also a big factors in this lawsuit.

Seattle Children’s Hospital has been aware that their facility is unsafe even dating back to the 2000s according to Madeline Holcombe, a writer for CNN. The hospital has had to shut down its operating rooms twice after common mold was detected in the air. As a result, six patients were sickened and one even died. During the gap between 2001 up to 2004, seven patients developed the same sickness and five of them died. A statement by the CEO of the hospital said that at the time they thought most of them were isolated infections but this proved to be false; the true problem was with the air handling systems.

According to what the lawsuit says, the hospital should have been aware of the risk around the early 2000s. Questions can be raised about the cleanliness of the hospital itself; the hospital’s lead engineer said there was bird debris and operating rooms were rotting out.

Over eighteen years it’s said fourteen patients were infected and a total of six people died; this is what Seattle Children’s Hospital is responsible for according to The Seattle Times. Also cited by the official lawsuit, the total number of affected patients is in the much higher hundreds.Sophomore Nate Galit said the suit was absolutely justified and that the hospital should be heavily fined.

Seattle Children’s Hospital is taking responsibility, according to The Seattle Times. They seem to be closing some if not all of their operating rooms in order to install a custom air filtration system. During some of the operations, it is worth noting the hospital said there was a chance for aspergillus mold exposure.

More and more families seem to be trying to join the lawsuit, Elizabeth Hutt underwent two heart surgeries at the hospital and two weeks after the surgery she was positive for aspergillus in her heart. “It certainly has changed her trajectory for treatment, and she’s definitely a lot sicker than she was going into treatment,” Katie Hutt, Elizabeth’s mother said.Normally, people breathe in aspergillosis (mold) daily without problem but according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with weaker immune systems are at greater risk to health problems due to the mold.

Stories like this keep getting revealed and it just keeps getting worse for Seattle Children’s Hospital.It will be interesting to see how this case pans out and if the hospital will recover. Even with the multiple apologies,with the CEO even saying something the cost will be big and it will take a while to win people’s trust back.