A trial has begun in a class-action lawsuit against Seattle Children's hospital from families who claim mold in the hospital made 14 young people sick and resulted in the death of seven patients, KING5 reported Jan. 22.
The lawsuit, obtained by Becker's, alleges that in 2019, the hospital admitted it had been contaminated with Aspergillus mold since 2001, which led to illness and deaths of child patients.
"By at least 2005, defendant [the hospital] knew the transmission of Aspergillus into its premises could be related to its air-handling system," the lawsuit alleges, adding that the hospital attempted to disprove that fact in response to a 2005 lawsuit.
The hospital's operating rooms also closed temporarily twice, once in May 2019 and again in November 2019, when high mold levels were detected, the publication reported.
"In 2019, Seattle Children's proactively offered preventative treatment for select patients who may have been exposed to aspergillus in our operating rooms. None of the patients offered preventative treatment developed an infection. Seattle Children's has accepted responsibility for the potential exposure while in our operating rooms, and the harm, if any, caused by the treatment provided," a spokesperson for Seattle Children's said in a statement shared with Becker's.
Routine air tests located mold in both the hospital's equipment storage room and its ORs in May 2020. Seattle Childrens was ordered to pay $250,000 to three families who filed a $40 million lawsuit in 2022, admitting its negligence in the mold infections, KING5 reported.
"Seattle Children's greatest priority is the health and safety of its patients, a commitment that includes keeping patients fully informed of potential risks. Ongoing testing since 2020 confirms that the operating rooms at Seattle Children's are safe for patient care," the hospital's spokesperson said.
The new trial, which involves four families and will determine damages, is based on an underlying lawsuit with 77 plaintiffs who claim they were exposed in 2019 to mold in both the hospital's cardiac and neurosurgery ORs, KING5 reported.