More than 2,000 patients are exposed to HIV and hepatitis after huge breach in hospital protocols

A class action lawsuit has been filed after thousands of hospital patients were told they may have been exposed to various illnesses including HIV.

Nearly 2,400 patients who underwent anesthesia at the Oregon facilities could also be at risk of infections such as hepatitis B and C, the Oregon Health Authority said this month.

The tainted procedures were the fault of a since-fired anesthesiologist, they said - all administered between March 2022 and February 2024.

All were informed the physician who administered anesthesia 'failed to adhere to infection control procedures' and, as a result, potentially exposed them to infections, the complaint filed by four people in Clackamas County claimed. 

They are suing Providence Health for negligence, as well as the Oregon Anesthesiology Group (OAG). The unnamed anesthesiologist was employed by OAG, but treated patients at various Providence medical centers.

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A class action lawsuit has been filed after thousands of hospital patients were told they may have been exposed to various illnesses including HIV. 'I don't think this fair for us to be going through this,' one of the potentially exposed patients told KATU News in Portland this week

'I don't think this fair for us to be going through this,' one of the potentially exposed patients told KATU News in Portland this week.

'Because, just imagine, people who go to take a blood test are going to go with the fear I can be infected.'

She, like the others, received treatment at one of the centers in the aforementioned timeframe. 

The doctor, the hospital said, may not have followed 'infection control' practices when administering the anesthesia.

The woman interview was not among those who filed the suit, which claims the hospital's actions have caused patients 'pain, suffering, shock, horror, anguish, grief, anxiety, nervousness, embarrassment, [and] humiliation' beyond belief. 

Their also suing for 'loss of enjoyment of life and other general and special damages', as the woman in the clip received treatment another, non Providence location owned by Legacy Health 

The healthcare company said it notified 221 patients who may have been exposed to infections at their clinics since they hired OAG last year, after Providence cut ties with them months before. 

The hospital chain said the provider worked at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center in Gresham for less than six months, from December to May.

She received potentially tainted treatments at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center in Gresham at some point between December and May, when an anesthesiologist responsible for the exposures worked there

Within that span, the woman interviewed was treated by the doc in question, who is no longer employed with OAG and is not treating patients at their facilities, the organization said.

'The safety of our patients is our top priority. When we learned that the physician had violated infection control practices, we suspended him, informed our partners Legacy Health and Providence, and then began an investigation that resulted in the physician's termination,' OAG said in a statement earlier this month.

 'Even though the risk of infection was low, new protocols and procedures have been put in place to prevent similar incidents in the future.' 

The plaintiffs, meanwhile, are four Clackamas County patients who all received IV anesthesia during surgery at Providence's Willamette Falls Medical Center.

One was tested for HIV and Hepatitis B and C and their results came back negative, the lawsuit filed Wednesday say, while three others are still awaiting their results. 

State officials well-versed on hospital-acquired infections are assisting the hospitals' investigations, as the hospital chains and the anesthesiology firm have kept relatively mum on the ongoing situation 

They have only said that there was a 'low' risk of potential infection and that new protocols have been put in place.

The lawsuit, however, names Providence Health and the Oregon Anesthesiology Group (OAG) as defendants. Before moving to Legacy, the unnamed anesthesiologist - employed by OAG, - treated patients at various Providence medical centers like the one seen here

Both Legacy and Providence are providing free screening for HIV and hepatitis B and C for patients potentially affected. 

The lawsuit states the patients now have to undergo medical treatment for exposure 'which would not have been necessary in the absence of [the d]efendants' violations alleged herein, and have to live with severe emotional and mental anguish due to [the defendants'] negligence.' 

It also notes that hepatitis and HIV are often not detectable for months initially, so the patient 'will live with the anxiety, stress, and emotional distress that they may be infected with hepatitis B, hepatitis C and/or HIV.'

In addition to demanding a jury trial, the patients are seeking class action certification and also asking unspecified damages, injunctive relief, declaratory judgments, costs and attorneys' fees, per the complaint.

'Over 2,000 patients have now learned they were at risk of having contracted an infectious disease because of the defendants' alleged failure to implement proper protocols to prevent this possible exposure,' Adam Polk, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, told ABC News.

'Since shortly after these notifications were sent out, we have been speaking with patients on a daily basis who were impacted by the potential exposure,' added attorney Joe Sauder, who is also on the case.

The early 2,400 patients who underwent anesthesia at the Oregon facilities could also be at risk of infections such as hepatitis B and C, the Oregon Health Authority said earlier this month

'They are obviously distressed and concerned about their health and the health of their loved ones.' 

Providence previously said that patients were at low risk of exposure, while OAG said there were no investigations underway but 'acknowledge[d] the worry, pain and loss suffered by anyone affected by a health care-associated infection (HAI).'

"Out of an abundance of caution, we are encouraging these patients to get a blood test to screen for the aforementioned infections, at no cost," Providence said on July 11. 

'If a patient tests positive, Providence will reach out to discuss their test results and next steps.'

The investigation into how the contaminations actually occurred remains ongoing.