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Judge Finds VA Hospital Liable in Endo Hepatitis Case
Florida veteran's lawsuit was first to originate from flawed-reprocessing outbreak.
Published:October 19, 2012
A federal judge sided with an Air Force veteran Thursday in a lawsuit alleging that improper endoscope reprocessing practices at a Miami Veterans Affairs hospital infected the veteran with hepatitis C, according to published reports.
Robert Metzler, who underwent a colonoscopy at the hospital in 2007, was the first victim to sue the hospital over an outbreak resulting from the routine use of contaminated endoscopes.
The outbreak led the Miami VA hospital as well as veterans' hospitals in Augusta, Ga., and Murfreesboro, Tenn., to notify and urge nearly 11,000 veterans who'd undergone the procedure between 2004 and 2009 to get their blood tested for hepatitis.
The judge's ruling is expected to be followed by a determination of financial damages to be awarded to Mr. Metzler at a later date. His lawsuit sought a total of $30 million.
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