Get Compensation for a Burkholderia Cepacia Infection from a Contaminated Syringe
Contact our law firm if you or a loved one contracted a Burkholderia cepacia infection. Attorney Fred Pritzker and his Bad Bug Law Team recently won a $7.5 million verdict for a client sickened by another dangerous pathogen. Fred has been quoted by the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal and others.
Our law firm is investigating an outbreak of bloodstream infections (bacteremia) caused by Burkholderia cepacia (B. cepacia). To date there are 160 people from 5 states who have been sickened in the outbreak, which is ongoing.
The states involved in this outbreak include the following, according to the CDC:
- Delware (4 cases at 2 facilities);
- Maryland (12 cases at 3 facilities);
- New Jersey (59 cases at 20 facilities);
- New York (57 cases at 24 facilities); and
- Pennsylvania (28 cases at 10 facilities).
A “case” patient is a person whose blood culture yielded B. cepacia between August 1, 2016 and the present, and who, previous to the blood culture, had received intravenous care at a facility that was utilizing prefilled 0.9% sodium chloride IV flush solution manufactured by Nurse Assist.
To date, seven people in two states have died: New York (5 deaths) and Pennsylvania (2 deaths). It has not been determined whether the deaths associated with this outbreak were caused by the B. cepacia infection, the patients’ underlying health conditions, or another cause.
The majority of people sickened are patients residing at long-term care or rehabilitation facilities who were receiving intravenous (IV) fluids and/or antibiotics through central venous catheters. Contaminated prefilled saline flush syringes manufactured by Nurse Assist, Haltom City, TX, are being investigated as a source of the bacteria.
Nurse Assist issued a voluntary recall of all its prefilled saline flush syringes on October 4, 2016.
Our law firm is providing free consultations to people who would like information about a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit against Nurse Assist.
Information for Patients from the CDC
Saline flush is administered into a vein through an IV. Therefore, the Burkholderia cepacia infections seen in this outbreak are bloodstream infections. Common symptoms seen with bloodstream infections include:
- Fever
- Chills or shivering
- Clammy or sweaty skin
- Confusion or disorientation
- Shortness of breath
- Increased heart rate
This pathogen can be resistant to many common antibiotics.