NH hepatitis C outbreak: Federal class action lawsuit

Click To Play



CONCORD, N.H. (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com)– Health officials fear the hepatitis C outbreak in New Hampshire could be much larger than originally thought and at least one group of patients is filing a federal lawsuit.

The outbreak has been traced back to David Kwiatkowski, who is a former technician at Exeter Hospital's cardiac catheterization lab.

Last week, Kwiatkowski was charged with infecting at least 31 patients with the disease. Officials say he was feeding his own drug addiction by stealing drugs from syringes and then filling them back up with saline.

Exeter Hospital is now telling 6,000 patients to get tested for hepatitis C, that up from the initial projection of about 1,300 patients.

An attorney will file the first class action lawsuit on behalf of five victims from New Hampshire against the company that hired Kwiatkowski.

Triage Staffing Company is based in Nebraska and the attorney hopes more people will come forward and join the suit.

The hospital is having health clinics this weekend for people to get tested.


Read more: http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/19107344/2012/07/25/nh-hepatitis-outbreak-federal-class-action-lawsuit#ixzz21dSX28Jr