New Hampshire Hospital Sues Man for Hepatitis C Outbreak

The New Hampshire hospital that underwent a hepatitis C outbreak last year is suing the traveling technician charged with infecting the patients and the organizations that it says had a role in getting him to work there.

The Portsmouth Herald reports that Exeter Hospital has sued David Kwiatkowski, Maxim Healthcare, Inc., the American Registry of Radiological Technologist, American HealthCare Services Association, LLC and Triage Staffing, Inc.

Kwiatkowski pleaded guilty in August to 16 federal drug charges. He admitted stealing painkiller syringes from hospitals and replacing them with saline-filled syringes tainted with his blood.

Before he was hired at Exeter Hospital in 2011, Kwiatkowski worked in 18 hospitals in seven states. Forty-six people in four states have been diagnosed with the same strain of hepatitis C he carries.