Duke Health settles claims from elevator-fluid lawsuit

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke University Health System has settled claims by patients who alleged they suffered health problems after being exposed to hydraulic fluid on surgical instruments at two Duke hospitals in 2004.

The confidential settlement resolved claims against Duke by an unknown number of clients.

Meanwhile, dozens of patients exposed to the hydraulic fluid at Durham Regional and Duke Raleigh hospitals have sued the companies that contracted with Duke to sterilize the equipment.

The lawsuit said the plaintiffs were patients of Durham Regional or Duke Raleigh hospitals in late 2004, when more than 3,600 patients were operated on with instruments mistakenly cleaned with used hydraulic fluid.

The fluid had been drained from an elevator, but sent back to the hospitals for use as detergent.

Duke and HensonFuerst, the law firm representing the patients, released the following statement Thursday:

"HensonFuerst and Duke University Health Systems have resolved and settled without resort to litigation all claims involving HensonFuerst clients against Duke University Health Systems and its constituent hospitals arising out of the Hydraulic Fluid incident which occurred in 2004. Specific terms are confidential based on mutual agreement by both parties."

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As for the hydraulic fluid causing problems, well as a scientist, it would be hard to prove. Only way is to monitor those possibly affected and compare them to a control group to see if random incidence of illness (or any specifics) is greater. By that time, the damage is done. Not only that, confounders like someone smoking or predisposition can have more of an affect. So let me stick some gauzes rinsed with motor oil in your abdomen. You may survive without any long term problems, but the time for recovery could be longer, more painful and more time in the ICU. Maybe the scar is larger or a patient has prolonged GI pain. All of these are typical complications, but how do you know if it is due to the fluid, chance, or poor surgery? I love how you believe Duke is made of Teflon but others associated with them are terrible. Everyone makes mistakes, some face up to it.

Pharmboy
June 20, 2008 11:26 a.m.

Sean, It is hardly wise to just blame the organ matching organization. So you are stating that the medical staff should blindedly take an organ and stuff it into someone? Checks and balances man! Someone in organ transplant team should always validate the HLA and other matching in such a high risk procedure.

Pharmboy
June 20, 2008 11:22 a.m.

"PharmaLink-FHI, a Durham-based private health research firm hired by Duke Health, reported in a new study that almost 90 percent of the exposed patients had no major clinical problems in the past two years. Another 8.6 percent had been hospitalized since their exposure, while 2.5 percent reported an infection and 1.8 percent had died.

The average time between exposure and subsequent hospitalization was more than six months, according to the report. Likewise, patients who developed infections did so several months after exposure, the report stated, concluding that no correlation could be made between the two events.

"When compared with expected medical outcome rates, the PharmaLink-FHI registry did not identify any rates that were increased above those expected of a general or similar patient population," the report stated."

I still maintain that the only group that received money for this lawsuit was HensonFuerst.

seankelly15
June 19, 2008 2:36 p.m.

Pharmboy - No evidence of harm was presented - only anecdotal accounts about illnesses that did not occur until the patients were contacted by HensonFeurst. Please provide one shred of evidence that DUHS harmed these poeple.

seankelly15
June 19, 2008 2:29 p.m.

tiblet - The Santillan case was a tissue-typing error that was linked to the organ procurement organization - not DUHS. I know nothing about your relative, but apparently the care was adequate but they had a complaint about the bill. And, finally you have a friend who is a nurse who has made comments about her employer. I don't see any 'screw-ups' here or 'black eyes' as you called them.

seankelly15
June 19, 2008 2:23 p.m.