Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa

The families of three young children who died after being exposed to mold while being treated for cancer at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the hospital.

The lawsuit file in Hillsborough County Circuit Court alleges that renovations being performed at the facility stirred up mold, which led to the development of fungal infections in all three children. 

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the families of a 5-year-old boy, 2-year old girl, and 9-year-old girl.

According to the Tampa Bay Tribune, all of three of children had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells.  The children, two of which had gone into remission before developing the infection, were patients at the pediatric oncology ward at the Clyde Perry Cancer Institute of St. Joseph while the area was undergoing renovations.

In the lawsuit, the families claim the hospital should have known the children's weakened state made them more susceptible to mold-related infections.  The lawsuit also alleges the children were moved around the hospital's campus for various treatments, during which the hospital failed to protect them from dust and spores kicked up by the construction. In addition, the lawsuit also claims the hospital failed to properly seal off the area undergoing renovations, exposing the children to harmful airborne fungi.  

St. Joseph's spokeswoman Lisa Patterson said the hospital took necessary measures to reduce infections in the hospital by using barriers around construction areas, filtering the air, and monitoring ventilation systems.

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