Man Who Triggered National Hepatitis C
The man who spread Hepatitis C through dirty needles and started a national outbreak last year will plead guilty to all 14 federal charges against him in exchange for 30 to 40 years in prison, rather than the potential 100 year sentence.
David Kwiatkowski, a former hospital worker who became a traveling nurse on temp jobs, pleaded guilty to seven counts of tampering with a consumer product and seven counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud, according to the plea agreement filed on Monday, August 12th.
Kwiatkowski admitted to taking syringes of the painkiller fentanyl, injecting himself, then allowing other people to use the dirty syringes, even though he knew he had Hepatitis C. He stole painkiller syringes from his employer Exeter Hospital, in the cardiac catheterization lab in New Hampshire, then replacing them with blood-tainted saline. He admitted to investigators when he was jailed in July 2012 that he had stolen drugs for more than a decade and was “killing a lot of people.”
“Kwiatkowski used the stolen syringes to inject himself, causing them to become tainted with his infected blood, before filling them with saline and then replacing them for use in the medical procedure,” the U.S. attorney’s office in Concord, New Hampshire, said in a statement. “Consequently, instead of receiving the prescribed dose of fentanyl, patients instead received saline tainted by Kwiatkowski’s infected blood.”
The former nurse worked in 18 hospitals across seven states, before being hired at Exeter in 2011. His case led to 11,000 former and current patients having to undergo testing for Hepatitis Cin New Hampshire alone. Kwiatkowski has been linked to infections in 32 people.
Although he was diagnosed in 2010, Kwiatkowski said he had been stealing drugs since 2002, and estimated he’d swapped out needles at least 50 times in New Hampshire, 30 times inGeorgia, and 20 times in Kansas. He also worked in Arizona, Maryland, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania. The plea deal allows him to avoid criminal charges related to the Hepatitis C outbreak in Georgia, Maryland, and Kansas.
Federal Prosecution of Hepatitis C and Communicable Diseases
Knowingly infecting other people is a serious criminal offense, whether the infection is Hepatitis C or HIV. It can be considered assault with intent to do bodily harm. If the crime occurs across multiple state lines, it becomes a federal issue.
Assault and battery are two different but related crimes that frequently happen simultaneously and, as a result, are usually prosecuted jointly. Assault involves the act of threatening to injure someone, while battery refers to the actual act of violence. Both assault and battery are taken extremely seriously in a court of law and carry heavy penalties including jail time and more.
If you cannot file for criminal or federal charges, personal injury lawsuits can help you recover medical costs and punish the person that infected you. Medical malpractice personal injury lawsuits can also help a medical professional from continuing dangerous practices that could lead to the spread of disease.
The Strom Law Firm Can Help with Personal Injury Claims for Medical Negligence, Including for Hepatitis C
If you or a loved one have been injured, harmed, or killed from contracting serious communicable diseases like Hepatitis C, HIV, or meningitis, you may be entitled to file a personal injury lawsuit. The attorneys at the Strom Law Firm can help get you the compensation you deserve, to get you through these tough times. We are licensed to practice across South Carolina, Georgia, and New York. To help you with your case, we offer free, confidential consultations. Do not hesitate to contact us. 803.252.4800