Colorado hospital faces lawsuit in stolen painkillers case


Save Story

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

DENVER (AP) — A lawsuit has been filed against Swedish Medical Center, alleging the Denver-area hospital was negligent in hiring a surgery technician who put thousands of patients at risk of being exposed to HIV and hepatitis.

The Denver Post reports (http://dpo.st/1p6EbiT ) the hospital fired Rocky Allen in January. Court records show that when Allen was hired he had already been fired from four other hospitals and had been court-martialed during his time in the Navy for stealing pain medication.

Allen has since pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging he stole syringes filled with fentanyl from the hospital.

The lawsuit seeks class action status for those who had surgery at Swedish when Allen worked there.

Swedish Medical Center has offered about 2,900 patients free tests for HIV and hepatitis.

The hospital couldn't be reached for comment.

___

Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent U.S. stories

Related topics

The Associated Press
    KSL.com Beyond Series
    KSL.com Beyond Business

    KSL Weather Forecast

    KSL Weather Forecast
    Play button