When a Routine Procedure Causes Serious Harm
Nobody walks into a gastroenterology clinic or hospital expecting to leave with a life-threatening infection. But for thousands of patients across the country — including here in Georgia — that is exactly what happened. A device that was supposed to help diagnose and treat illness became the source of one.
Olympus is one of the largest manufacturers of endoscopic equipment in the world. Their scopes are used in hospitals and outpatient surgical centers every single day — in Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta, Macon, Columbus, and communities throughout the state. And for years, a critical design flaw in certain Olympus devices allowed dangerous bacteria to survive standard cleaning between patients, putting each new patient at risk before they even knew what was happening.
The FDA has recalled at least five Olympus products and issued an import alert blocking more than 50 Olympus devices from entering the United States — a sweeping regulatory action that reflects just how serious and widespread the problem truly is. For Georgia patients who were harmed, these federal actions are not just headlines. They are evidence.
At Chris Hudson Law Firm, we have built our reputation on standing up for people who were hurt by someone else’s negligence. We fight hard for Georgia families, and we are not intimidated by large corporations with deep pockets. If an Olympus device harmed you or someone you love, we want to hear your story.
The Science Behind the Danger
Why These Scopes Are So Difficult to Clean
Flexible endoscopes — particularly duodenoscopes used in ERCP procedures — have an extremely complex internal structure. Narrow fluid channels, hinged mechanical components, and tight crevices create spaces that are nearly impossible to fully sterilize using standard hospital cleaning methods.
Research published in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy confirmed that contamination and transmission of drug-resistant bacteria occurred even when hospital staff followed Olympus’s own reprocessing instructions step by step. This finding was critical — it shifted the focus from human error to device design. The problem was not how the scopes were being cleaned. The problem was that the scopes were not designed to be cleanable in the first place.
A 2022 report from the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) reinforced this conclusion, finding that flexible endoscopes remain among the most difficult medical devices to adequately disinfect and that only design-level changes — not revised cleaning protocols — can meaningfully protect patients.
The Real-World Consequences for Patients
When contaminated scopes are used on patients, the results can be devastating. The CDC has linked Olympus and similar endoscopes to outbreaks of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) — one of the most dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria ever documented. The CDC reports mortality rates for CRE infections reaching as high as 50% in certain patient populations.
Documented outbreaks tied to contaminated duodenoscopes occurred at major hospitals including UCLA Medical Center and Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, where multiple patients died. These were not isolated incidents at poorly run facilities. They happened at respected institutions with trained staff — because the device itself was the problem.
For Georgia patients — particularly those who are elderly, immunocompromised, diabetic, or managing other chronic conditions — a scope-related infection can mean extended hospitalization, permanent organ damage, or death. The physical, emotional, and financial toll on families is enormous, and it was entirely preventable.
What the Government Found — and When They Found It
The FDA began receiving reports of patient infections connected to Olympus endoscopes as early as 2013. Internal hospital investigations started flagging the same scope brand in multiple outbreak clusters.
By 2015, the FDA issued a formal safety communication warning hospitals about contamination risks tied to duodenoscopes. Olympus continued selling the same design without meaningful correction.
A U.S. Senate investigation concluded that Olympus had internal knowledge of the contamination problem years before going public. Senators found both the manufacturer and the FDA had moved too slowly while patients continued to be harmed.
The FDA formally recalled at least five separate Olympus products as evidence of patient harm mounted. Each recall represented patients who had already been exposed to the defective devices.
In one of the most significant actions ever taken against a medical device company, the FDA issued an import alert blocking more than 50 Olympus products from entering the U.S. market entirely.
Federal courts allowed mass tort claims against Olympus to proceed in In re: Olympus Corp. Duodenoscope Products Liability Litigation, validating the legal theories that injured patients and their families have relied upon nationwide.
Do You Have a Qualifying Claim?
Procedures That Qualify
Your endoscopic procedure must have taken place in 2018 or later at a Georgia hospital, outpatient surgical center, or clinic, and medical records must be obtainable to confirm an Olympus device was used. Qualifying procedure types include:
- Colonoscopy
- ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography)
- Upper Endoscopy
- Laparoscopy
- Bronchoscopy
- Ureteroscopy
- Hysteroscopy
- Sinus Endoscopy
- Cystoscopy
If you are unsure which type of procedure you had, your discharge paperwork or a medical records request from your provider will typically include this information. Our team can help you navigate that process.
Injuries That Qualify
Your injury must have required a separate hospitalization or medical appointment following your procedure. Qualifying injuries include:
- Bacterial infection requiring hospitalization within 90 days of the procedure
- Sepsis or bacteremia following the procedure
- Drug-resistant superbug such as CRE or resistant E. coli diagnosed within 180 days
- Pneumonia or severe pulmonary infection within 90 days
- Tuberculosis within 90 days of the procedure
- HIV diagnosis within 90 days of the procedure
- Organ or tissue damage or perforation caused by the scope
- Internal burning caused by the device during the procedure
- Device component that broke or dislodged inside the body, causing injury or requiring retrieval surgery
- Qualifying hemorrhage following the procedure
- Death caused by infection or device component failure
Frequently Asked Questions
It does not disqualify your claim. Olympus devices were distributed broadly to hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, gastroenterology clinics, and specialty facilities across Georgia. The type of facility where you had your procedure is less important than whether an Olympus device was used and whether you suffered a qualifying injury. Outpatient facilities maintain device records just as hospitals do, and those records are obtainable through a standard medical records request.
Absolutely. One of the most troubling aspects of this situation is that patients were rarely told their post-procedure infections might be connected to the scope used during their care. Many infections caused by contaminated endoscopes present days or even weeks after the procedure, making it easy for physicians to treat them as unrelated. If your infection falls within the qualifying timeframes and meets the severity criteria, it is worth having your situation reviewed regardless of what your doctors attributed it to at the time.
Georgia law provides a wrongful death cause of action for surviving family members when a loved one dies as a result of another party’s negligence or a defective product. If your mother’s sepsis developed within 90 days of her procedure and medical records can confirm an Olympus device was used, your family’s claim deserves a full review. The person filing on behalf of the estate will need to have legal authority to do so, but our team can walk you through what that means in practice.
That letter is extremely valuable. Hold onto it and have it available when you submit your case evaluation. Notification letters from hospitals or manufacturers can serve as direct evidence that a contamination or device failure risk was identified — and that you were a patient who fell within the affected window. In some cases, these letters have been used to establish that the manufacturer or facility had direct knowledge of the risk.
No on both counts. Your evaluation is completely free, and submitting your information does not create an attorney-client relationship or obligate you in any way. It starts a review process. Our legal team will examine your situation carefully and give you an honest assessment. We only move forward with a case when we genuinely believe we can help — and we will be straightforward with you either way. If we do take your case, we work entirely on contingency, meaning you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.
Current qualifying criteria focus on procedures from 2018 forward. However, every situation has its own specific facts, and we encourage you to submit your information for review regardless. The date your injury was discovered — not just the date of the procedure — can sometimes affect how deadlines are calculated. Do not count yourself out before speaking with our team.
Chris Hudson Law Firm Is Ready to Fight for You
Georgia patients trusted their doctors, their hospitals, and the equipment used in their care. Olympus violated that trust — and the FDA’s own findings, Senate investigations, and federal litigation confirm it. If you were harmed, you should not have to carry that burden alone.
Chris Hudson Law Firm takes Georgia product liability cases seriously. We dig into the facts, work with medical experts, and go up against corporate defendants without backing down. We serve clients across Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, Athens, Albany, and every part of Georgia — and we are ready to put that experience to work for you.
The evaluation is free. The review is thorough. And if we take your case, you pay nothing unless we win.