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Lawsuits are growing against Olympus Corporation, an organization that manufactures endoscopes for use in hospitals and medical centers. These devices are critical to gathering information about the nasal and respiratory tract, as well as the digestive system.
However, evidence shows that some scopes may have exposed people to dangerous bacteria. What makes this even more worrisome is that even if healthcare providers follow all necessary and proper cleaning procedures, bacteria can still transfer to patients.
These patients believe that certain devices put them at risk for serious infection, including the development of complications from bacterial exposure, such as life-threatening sepsis. Patients state that the devices are so complex in design that they trap bacteria, making it nearly impossible to fully disinfect them after use on a patient and allowing superbugs to transfer from one person to the next.
Call our medical malpractice attorneys in Lexington to evaluate your case in our free consultation.
Infected after an endoscopy or colonoscopy?
Call Our Lexington Product Liability Attorneys Today
Patients who underwent various endoscope procedures say they developed a serious infection after these procedures when providers used reusable endoscopes, including duodenoscopes, colonoscopes, bronchoscopes and gastroscopes. These lawsuits claim that the scope’s design allowed for bacteria and potentially additional biological material to become trapped in the device. After a transmission, these patients suffered conditions such as:
In these lawsuits, claimants believe they would not have suffered the illnesses or complications from them if the devices had worked as expected.
After meeting with a product liability attorney who will review your case and claim, you may be able to move forward with a lawsuit if you can show you suffered consequences as a result of a failure in these devices. Here are several factors that may contribute to your case.
You may be at risk if you have had an infection after having any of the following procedures:
This may be done as a diagnostic procedure to gather additional information, or as a treatment for a condition and its symptoms.
Those filing an Olympus Scope infection lawsuit typically have suffered from serious health complications within a short period following the scoping procedure. You may have a case if you suffered any of the following after your procedure:
If your hospital stay was extended due to your new symptoms or complications, or if you are not sure if you were exposed, seek a consultation with an attorney immediately.
There is an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to determine the risks involved. In June of 2025, the FDA issued alerts that stopped some types of Olympus medical devices from entering the country. This includes both endoscopes and reprocessing equipment. This effort was done to stop the import of these products manufactured in Japan that continued to violate safety regulations.
Prior to that, in November of 2022, the FDA warned the company about concerns at its manufacturing facility, including failure to properly test device designs and to validate manufacturing processes.
The FDA claimed the company did not test and validate its designs prior to distributing them and failed to ensure that manufacturing processes were safe. They also lacked a way to report device problems and adverse events.
Notably, this is not directly related to the infection risks. However, plaintiffs of Olympus Scope infection lawsuits believe that the company knew of the risks and failed to take action to prevent them. Instead, the company continued to market and distribute the devices, putting additional people at risk.
To seek a lawsuit, you must demonstrate that the manufacturer was negligent in the production or distribution of their product. Manufacturers can be held legally responsible if they knew or should have known about a risk and failed to warn or take action to protect patients. Though all lawsuits are slightly different, some of the most common allegations for these scope lawsuits include:
In each of these cases, the claimant must prove that the manufacturer knew or should have known and still failed to take action. That failure must have led specifically to financial and physical losses for the patient.
In situations where you may have suffered financial, physical, and emotional loss from the outcome of a procedure like this, speak to a personal injury attorney in Lexington, KY. Your attorney will help you file an Olympus Scope infection lawsuit to hold those responsible accountable. Contact us at (859) 268-4300 today.