Vanderbilt University Medical Center sued after allegedly exposing dozens of patients to bloodborne pathogens

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is facing a lawsuit after a patient says a routine colonoscopy put him at serious risk of exposure to HIV and Hepatitis C.

Serving as the primary plaintiff is the patient, known as Bzur Haun, who said he got a call warning him that he could have been potentially infected with bloodborne diseases as a result of his July 2024 colonoscopy, which he received at a clinic run by the medical center.

That call didn’t come until two and a half months later. Haun told Fox 17, a local news outlet investigating the case.

Haun said the stress of knowing he could have HIV or hepatitis, and any chance to intervene early could be over, causing him to suffer serious mental and physical stress.

He claims the stress led him to develop shingles, back pain and high blood pressure, along with unexpected weight gain as he waited for an answer about his potential diagnosis.

Luckily, he never tested positive. All the same, his lawsuit is seeking compensatory damages for the alleged negligence by Vanderbilt.

According to court documents, a contaminated solution used during the procedure was the culprit, prompting a call center to contact Haun and warn him to get tested.

Since the incident in 2024, Vanderbilt told reporters that it had corrected the issue. However, details on how this contamination happened are still unknown. It's also unclear how many patients were impacted, and if any of them ended up being infected with a potentially deadly virus.

Daniel Clayton, a lawyer representing Haun, told Fox 17 the number of patients at risk of exposure is likely over 100. For now, Clayton says he is representing 72 of them.

For more, read the full report at the link below.