Attorneys representing three former patients at Swedish Medical Center filed a federal lawsuit against the hospital and its owner Tuesday alleging negligent hiring practices put thousands of patients at risk.
Last month, the hospital told 2,900 patients to get tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV after hospital staff caught a surgical technician trying to steal a powerful narcotic from an operating room.
Federal prosecutors have stated in court Allen has a “bloodborne pathogen,” but have yet to detail any specific disease. Allen was fired a week after the attempted theft. He faces a variety of federal charges and faces a decade in prison if he’s convicted.
Tuesday, three former patients filed a class action lawsuit against Swedish Medical Center and its owner HealthOne (Also known as Hospital Corporation of America) suggesting the hospital should have done more to keep Allen out of its operating rooms.
Allen’s troubled past goes back to at least 2011 when the military found Allen with 30 vials of fentanyl while serving in Afghanistan.
At least three other hospitals – one in California and two in Arizona – subsequently hired and fired Allen after staff at each facility suspected he was once again trying to steal fentanyl.
It’s not known how much -- if anything -- Swedish knew about Allen before it hired him in August 2015.
A spokesperson for Swedish said the hospital had yet to receive a copy of the complaint and said it would be premature to comment on something the staff has yet to see.
Health One sent the following statement Tuesday night:
“Our staff reacted swiftly and appropriately to report this incident to multiple authorities and to notify patients as no one had previously, even knowing it would result in intense publicity and lawsuits from plaintiff's attorneys seeking to take advantage of this unfortunate situation for their own monetary gain. We will defend ourselves vigorously.”
