Case Overview
Keller Rohrback L.L.P. and Sauder Schelkopf LLC, two nationally recognized law firms, filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of over 2,600 individuals in Washington against MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, located in Pierce County, Washington. The complaint alleges that MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital negligently hired and inadequately supervised an emergency department nurse, Cora Weberg, who tampered with injectable pain medications and put the health and safety of 2,600 patients at risk for bloodborne pathogens, such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV.
The investigation was prompted by the public safety alert from MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital urging over 2,600 of its patients, who were treated at the hospital between August 2017 and March 2018, to get tested for Hepatitis C and other bloodborne pathogens.
“As a result of MultiCare’s failure to properly implement systems to prevent and mitigate this exposure, over 2,600 patients learned they were at risk of having contracted a potentially deadly virus,” said Cari Laufenberg of Keller Rohrback. “Since this incident, we have been speaking with patients who were impacted by this potential exposure on a daily basis, which is particularly troubling because of the reports that some patients have already tested positive for Hepatitis C,” said Joe Sauder of Sauder Schelkopf.
If you or a family member had treatment at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital between August 2017 and March 2018 and were notified by the hospital to be tested for exposure to these bloodborne pathogen risks, please contact attorneys Cari Laufenberg, Mark D. Samson, or Benjamin Gould at 800.776.6044 or consumer@kellerrohrback.com, or Joe Sauder at 888.711.9975 or info@sstriallawyers.com to discuss our investigation and your potential claims against the hospital.
Case Status
Keller Rohrback filed their Amended Complaint on August 2, 2018 and their Motion for Class Certification on September 27, 2019. The hearing on Class Certification was on December 6, 2019, and the Court certified two classes.
The first class, defined as the “Weberg Treatment Class,” consists of the following:
All persons who were treated at the MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, Washington, between August 4, 2017, and March 23, 2018, who received care from Cora Weberg, and received notification letters in April 2018 from MultiCare.
The second class, defined as the “General Treatment Class,” consists of the following:
All persons who were treated at the MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, Washington, between August 4, 2017, and March 23, 2018, and received notification letters in 2018 from MultiCare, but who did not receive care from Cora Weberg.
Information on which class you are in can be found on page 4 of the Notice letter or by contacting CPT Group at (888) 416-0916.
MultiCare filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on April 24, 2020, seeking the dismissal of all claims of the General Treatment Class, which Plaintiffs opposed. MultiCare’s Motion for Summary Judgment was heard on July 31, 2020. The Court ruled in favor of MultiCare, dismissing all claims of the General Treatment Class. The claims of the Weberg Treatment Class remain intact. Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Reconsideration on August 10, 2020, which the Court denied.
Plaintiffs then appealed the trial court’s dismissal of the General Treatment Class’s claims. In an August 2022 decision, the Washington Court of Appeals affirmed (agreed with) the trial court’s dismissal. Plaintiffs petitioned the Washington Supreme Court to review the Court of Appeals’ decision. On April 5, 2023, the Washington Supreme Court granted Plaintiffs’ petition to hear the case. The parties have filed additional briefs in the Supreme Court, which heard oral argument in the appeal on September 26, 2023. The Supreme Court has taken the appeal under consideration and will issue a decision in due course.
This website will be updated periodically to reflect the litigation’s progress.
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