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Facility at center of 2012 meningitis outbreak hit hard

On Behalf of | Jan 2, 2015 | Hospital Negligence |

Most Lake Oswego residents remember the disastrous 2012 meningitis outbreak in the United States, which was caused by a compounding facility that was negligent and unclean in almost every way.

Well, more is still coming out from that unfortunate event. Criminal charges were filed recently against 14 people involved with the compounding facility — called the New England Compounding Center — responsible for the outbreak, and it is believed this will be the biggest criminal case involving contaminated medicine in U.S. history. 

According to some of the information released in the case, the compounding center was reckless and negligent in practically every imaginable way. Ingredients and tools were not properly sanitized or disinfected, and some employees were failing to proper wash and disinfect their hands. There were logs that had been falsified to make it appear as though people really were disinfecting certain rooms. And there was mold and bacteria in the air and all over the facility due to uncleanliness.

What it all adds up to is a facility that didn’t care about the risks they were passing on to doctors and patients, and they willfully ignored rules and regulations. Thankfully, justice is being done.

But let’s not kid ourselves — there are plenty of medical facilities out there right now that are probably negligent or performing actions that constitute malpractice. They just haven’t been found out yet. When medical malpractice occurs, the live of victimized patients are changed forever. They or their loved ones deserve justice for the offense that has been inflicted upon them.

Source: Associated Press, “14 charged in deadly 2012 meningitis outbreak,” Denise LaVoie, Dec. 17, 2014

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