Hospital Technician Who Sparked Hepatitis C Outbreak to Plead Guilty
EXETER, N.H. — The former traveling cardiac technologist, who allegedly sparked a multi-state hepatitis C outbreak that killed one individual, will plead guilty in exchange for a prison sentence of 30 to 40 years.
Police arrested David Kwiatkowski in July 2012 for his allegedly spreading hepatitis C to others via contaminated syringes tainted with his infected blood. Kwiatkowski was diagnosed with the disease, a potentially fatal blood-borne virus that affects the liver and can cause chronic health problems, in 2010. Still, he would use syringes fill with the painkiller fentanyl and replace them with dummy fluid, according to NBCNews.com.
Kwiatkowski has been accused of infecting at least 47 people, 32 of which were patients at Exeter Hospital in New Hampshire. One patient in Kansas, who was infected with hepatitis C genetically tied to Kwiatkowski’s strain, died. As part of the plea agreement, Kwiatkowski will plead guild to seven counts each of tampering with a consumer product and fraudulently obtaining controlled substances.
Related Articles:
- Lawsuits Pouring in Hepatitis C Outbreak
- Number of N.H. Hospital Hepatitis C Cases Grow to 27
- Hepatitis C Outbreak Linked to Hospital Employee
- Employee Accused of Spreading Hepatitis C ‘the Ultimate Con Artist’
- Thousands Await Hepatitis C Testing
- Lack of Reporting, Unsecured Meds Contributed to Hepatitis C Outbreak
- N.H. Hospital Must Release Patient Records in Hepatitis C Case
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