Ruling Makes Punitive Damages Possible in Hospital Mix Up

By Brittany Golledge

Published on August 11, 2005

Eight patients treated at Durham Regional Hospital and Duke Health Raleigh Hospital in 2004 filed the lawsuits after discovering they had been treated with surgical instruments washed in hydraulic fluid.

The allegations of medical malpractice are based on a mix-up that occurred in late 2004. Attorneys for the plaintiffs allege that employees of a Durham company sent to service elevators at the two hospitals removed hydraulic fluid while conducting routine maintenance, and then poured the liquid into barrels marked as surgical detergent. Cardinal Health, which supplied the detergent to the two hospitals, is accused of reclaiming those barrels and shipping them back to the hospitals for use without checking their contents.

Attorneys for the plaintiff's allege that as many as 3,800 patients were affected by the mix-up. Representatives of Cardinal Health and Automatic Elevator argue that punitive damages are not justified because the defendant's actions were not "willful or wanton." However, the recent ruling now makes punitive damages a possibility.

If the plaintiffs are successful with their lawsuit, Automatic Elevator and Cardinal Health could be forced to pay significant punitive damages in addition to costs for lost wages and medical bills.

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