Olympus must pay $6.6 million to a Seattle hospital over damages linked to a superbug outbreak suffered when its duodenoscopes became infected.

The hospital has to pay the family of a patient who died as a result $1 million, as well, a jury has found.

The case concerned the death, in 2013, of Richard Bigler, who became infected from an Olympus scope at Virginia Mason Medical Center.

But the scope maker dodged a major bullet when the jury rejected charges that the duodenoscope's design made it unsafe.

“We are appreciative that the jury recognized that Olympus’ duodenoscope design was not unsafe and did not contribute to Mr. Bigler’s unfortunate passing in 2013,” Olympus lawyer Sam Tarry said, according to Kaiser News.

The nearly eight-week trial is the first in the U.S. concerning the superbug outbreak tied to the gastrointestinal scopes.

The case's findings included that the manufacturer had not given adequate warnings or instructions for use – which had harmed the medical center as well as the patient.

Called the ruling a “win” for patient safety, Theresa Bigler’s attorney David Beninger stated that, “Olympus hasn’t been playing by the rules for some time and this verdict holds them accountable.”

Other manufacturers, he added, “must make patient safety a priority and not just a sales pitch,” noting that, “As Olympus’ own expert admitted at trial, lawsuits can change behavior and big lawsuits can make big changes. Hopefully this verdict will convince Olympus and others to listen.”

Olympus could have been hit a lot harder, according to some experts.

“In the jury’s opinion, the hospital shared some of the blame,” Lawrence Muscarella, a hospital-safety consultant in Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania, told Kaiser, advising that as plaintiffs learn how to present evidence from this trial, “it remains to be seen what this portends for other cases on the docket,” he said.

During the trail, Olympus had held that with proper cleaning its scopes were safe – and blamed the hospital, according to Kaiser.

In his closing argument, Olympus attorney Mark Anderson said that, “The proof in this case, from their witnesses, is there is no increased risk with the [Olympus scope].”

The hospital lawyers shot back that the scopes were faulty, expressing condolences for the family.

“We’re sorry for the grief and anguish experienced by the Bigler family,” the hospital said in a brief statement. “This was a complicated trial that lasted more than eight weeks. The verdict includes multiple decisions and we will continue reviewing them over the next few days.”

Business Affairs Homepage