Olympus America, the maker of the medical scope tied to outbreaks of so-called superbug infections at Virginia Mason Medical Center, has countersued the Seattle-based hospital, saying its scopes are not responsible for any deaths or damages, according to a Seattle Times report.
In May, Virginia Mason joined in a lawsuit against Olympus America with the widow of a man who contracted a fatal infection from a duodenoscope. Between 2012 and 2014, dozens of patients at Virginia Mason fell ill from infections linked to duodenoscopes.
In its new countersuit, Olympus argues the hospital failed to clean the device and use it properly and that the hospital damaged Olympus' reputation with its claims that the scopes are impossible to clean properly, according to the report. Olympus also claims the hospital is at fault for the man's death.
In March, Olympus issued an urgent safety notification with new cleaning instructions for duodenoscopes that were linked with deadly infections.