Woman Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit against Hospital for Infection

A Washington state woman filed a lawsuit against a hospital and a medical-device manufacturer for allegedly causing her husband to die from an infection.

Theresa Bigler is seeking unspecified monetary damages for the death of her husband Richard Bigler, who died from pancreatic cancer. According to Bigler’s attorney, his death certificate lists E. coli as a contributing factor, which was resistant to drugs.

According to the lawsuit, Olympus America was responsible for making the contaminated scope that led to Bigler’s infection, as well as 30 other medical device-related outbreaks at Seattle’s Virginia Mason Medical Center between 2012 and 2014.

The lawsuit also alleges that Virginia Mason failed to inform patients of the outbreak once the outbreak was discovered.