NJ Center Engaged In 'Wanton Neglect' In HIV Exposure: Lawsuit

SADDLE BROOK, NJ — A NJ center engaged in "wanton neglect" and carelessness when it recently exposed 3,800 patients to HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C, according to the lawsuit.

Lauren Marrero and her husband, Julio, made these claims in their class-action lawsuit they filed against HealthPlus Surgery Center in Saddle Brook, ABC7 reported.

They claim in the lawsuit that HealthPlus, "should have known that the sterilization procedures at their facility were insufficient" and posed "a substantial risk of harm to the Plaintiffs," according to a NorthJersey.com report.

Other patients, like Mahogany Clifton of Paterson, have joined the lawsuit since Marrero filed it, ABC7 reported.

"To me, these are deadly diseases," Clifton told ABC7. "What about my job? What about my child? What about my life?"

Attorney Michael Maggiano is representing Marrero.

The plaintiffs and "others similarly situated now live in fear of their exposure to these potentially fatal viruses," according to an NJBIZ report.

HealthPlus said it would pay for "all medical costs associated" with blood tests for HIV and hepatitis as long as that testing is done at a LabCorp testing facility in New York or New Jersey or at the Hudson Regional Hospital in Secaucus, which is owned by the same company that owns HealthPlus. (See related: NJ Health Center May Have Exposed People To HIV: Officials)

"Why are we being sent for blood work only at Hudson Regional or LabCorp. Why can we not pick our own private provider?" patient Kristin Debendicits asked.

If anyone does test positive for HIV or hepatitis, a representative from HealthPlus says it will provide them with a referral to a specialist.

Two HealthPlus Surgery Center employees were fired and another one resigned after poor sterilization practices came to light at the facility, NorthJersey.com reported. (See related: 2 Fired From Saddle Brook Center That Exposed People To HIV: Rpt.)

Two employees who are responsible for sterilizing medical instruments were fired for "performance-related issues," Mark Manigan, an attorney representing the center said in the report.

The New Jersey Department of Health closed HealthPlus for three weeks back in September. The center reopened when new staff was hired and trained, improved the way it dispensed medicine and cleaned and repaired all instruments.

"The fact that the DOH knew and let them open again, that’s very suspicious," Debendicits said. "It’s made me lose faith in the state, who is supposed to protect patients."

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Image: YouTube screenshot