A King County jury has ruled that Seattle Children's is responsible for exposing two babies and an 11-year-old to mold at the hospital and must pay $215,000 to the families of the children.
The payout, announced Feb. 8, is the first in a class-action lawsuit certified in King County Superior Court against Seattle Children's from families who claim their children had to take preventive antifungal medication and undergo testing after being exposed to Aspergillus mold in the hospital's operating rooms. The lawsuit, filed in 2019, involves more than 70 plaintiffs, according to their attorneys.
Mold in the hospital made at least 14 Seattle Children's patients sick since 2001, and, according to the hospital, seven of those patients died, KIRO reported.
The three children involved in the initial court proceeding did not develop an infection, but Seattle Children's acknowledged the children were offered preventive medication after potentially being exposed to mold in the air during surgery, according to KIRO.
"It took years of litigation for the hospital to finally take the blame," Andrew Ackley, a Strittmatter attorney representing the families, said in a Feb. 8 post on the law firm's website. "This class action and this trial are about taking responsibility, even where children did not suffer the worst possible outcomes. This is part of the march toward full accountability, and preventing this type of negligence from affecting any more families."
Seattle Children's must pay $100,000 each to two of the families and $15,000 to the third, according to the firm.
Seattle Children's shared the following statement with Becker's: "Seattle Children's greatest priority is the health and safety of our patients. We thank the court and jurors for their work and careful consideration of the evidence in this matter. Seattle Children's accepted responsibility for the potential exposure in our operating rooms, and we accept the jury's verdict."