Sunrise
Hospital and Medical Center and its director of pharmacy, Wilson Chu,
purchased a contaminated cardiac drug from an unaccredited compounding
pharmacy that ultimately led to the 2012 deaths of two Las Vegas
children, two lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court allege.
They did so, according to the suit filed last week, largely because the pharmacy offered cheaper prices.
The suit also contends Sunrise did not follow recognized standards to confirm the drug’s safety.
Filed on behalf of the families of 6-year-old Zacharie Nicholas Rood-Sucharzewski and 4-year-old Ari Thomas Gomez, the lawsuits charge that Sunrise bought contaminated cardioplegia solution in bulk from the New England Compounding Center (NECC), an unaccredited compounding pharmacy responsible last year for an outbreak of fungal meningitis in the United States that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says has caused 64 deaths. The two youngsters underwent open heart surgery at Sunrise.
John Thornton, a California lawyer handling the cases along with attorney Peter Wetherall of Las Vegas, charged: “Hospitals that chose to outsource their drugs from NECC would have discovered irregularities had they followed recognized standards to confirm sterility.”
They did so, according to the suit filed last week, largely because the pharmacy offered cheaper prices.
The suit also contends Sunrise did not follow recognized standards to confirm the drug’s safety.
Filed on behalf of the families of 6-year-old Zacharie Nicholas Rood-Sucharzewski and 4-year-old Ari Thomas Gomez, the lawsuits charge that Sunrise bought contaminated cardioplegia solution in bulk from the New England Compounding Center (NECC), an unaccredited compounding pharmacy responsible last year for an outbreak of fungal meningitis in the United States that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says has caused 64 deaths. The two youngsters underwent open heart surgery at Sunrise.
John Thornton, a California lawyer handling the cases along with attorney Peter Wetherall of Las Vegas, charged: “Hospitals that chose to outsource their drugs from NECC would have discovered irregularities had they followed recognized standards to confirm sterility.”