The source of a bacterial infection that caused brain damage to one of two twin boys shortly after their September 1, 2007, birth remained a mystery, until now. While the other boy is now three and a talkative preschooler, the brain damaged twin cannot speak or walk and has mental delays and cerebral palsy. His parents suspected the rare Bacillus cereus infection came from the hospital, but now the parents believe the source is the alcohol prep pads made by the Triad Group of Hartland, Wisconsin, and they have amended their medical malpractice claim to hold the company accountable. The firm that makes the pads, H&P Industries, has made no comment to MSNBC.
The evidence linking the boy’s condition to the wipes is circumstantial. The infection found in the boy’s bloodstream is the same organism found in the prep pads which led to a recall in January of more than $6 million in Triad products. The company is now under federal order not to make any medical supplies. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received reports of eight deaths and 11 serious infections as well as 250 problems associated with products made by the company. Two deaths have been blamed on Bacillus cereus.
While the parents had sued the hospital, the amended lawsuit names the company that makes the alcohol wipes and the pharmaceutical company that repackages and distributes the alcohol wipes contending that the bacterial contamination could have come at any step along the way from the source to the consumer. Under product liability law in Florida, the product could be defective in design, manufacturing, in marketing and in distribution.
The Triad alcohol wipes were part of a newborn care kit used to treat the prematurely born baby and his medication vial that delivered drugs to the baby. Government inspectors had found problems in the Wisconsin plant as far back as 2000 but the FDA depended on the plant to voluntarily comply with safe standards voluntarily, reports MSNBC.
The family hopes to receive a lifetime of care for their young son and change the products’ quality control practices and how FDA inspections and follow-throughs are conducted.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43687844/ns/health-tracking_tainted_wipes/t/lawsuit-ties-tainted-wipes-twins-brain-damage/
