OxyCide Lawsuit
If you or somebody you know has suffered side effects from OxyCide exposure, you may be entitled to financial compensation for your injuries by filing an OxyCide lawsuit. Learn more about the lawsuit.
Overview
The hospital disinfectant OxyCide manufactured by Ecolab has been linked to an increased risk of side effects among healthcare workers including housekeepers, janitors, and others. Unfortunately, the disinfectant that is supposed to keep patients safe from dangerous hospital-acquired illnesses may actually be making healthcare workers sick.
According to one hospital housekeeper:
“It burns my eyes, it makes them water. It burns my throat. “The best way to describe it is it’s like working with onions. You have no relief unless you take a break and go some place that’s well ventilated so you can get some air.”
Symptoms & Complications Reported To Our Law Firm
Some of the more common symptoms of OxyCide toxicity or poisoning include the following:
- Respiratory / breathing problems / bronchospasms
- Shortness of breath and difficulty breathing
- Chest tightness
- Asthma, wheezing, coughing
- Throat irritation, including burning sensations and sore throat
- Voice loss, including Vocal cord stridor (noise when inhaling and/or exhaling) and Vocal cord dysfunction
- Nasal irritation, including runny nose, bloody nose
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Memory Loss
- Forgetfulness / absent-mindedness
- Dermal / Skin burns, cracked skin, lip irritation, and rashes
- Ocular irritation, including burning or stinging in the eyes, and watery eyes
- Upset stomach, including nausea
- Others
Long-term exposure to OxyCide may also damage the liver, kidneys, or cause pulmonary edema and circulatory problems.
Litigation Updates To OxyCide Lawsuits Filed by Johnson//Becker
OxyCide Lawsuits Filed Against Ecolab by Johnson//Becker, PLLC
The lawsuits allege Ecolab’s disinfectant OxyCide is the cause of various hospital employee’s injuries.
Johnson//Becker represents several individuals who allege they have suffered injuries after the use of OxyCide Daily Disinfectant Cleaner. Furthermore, they allege Ecolab failed to properly warn users about the substantial health problems associated with the use of their product, OxyCide.
Read More: Johnson//Becker, PLLC Files Lawsuit Against Ecolab For Injuries Resulting From OxyCide
Ecolab Accused Of Hiding Health Risks In Its Disinfectants
Johnson//Becker, PLLC was recently featured on Law360.
The news outlet reported, “A hospital housekeeper who says she suffered from nosebleeds and coughing bouts after using Ecolab Inc.’s cleaning products has accused the company of hiding product risks and causing health problems to hospital workers around the country, according to a lawsuit filed in Minnesota federal court.”
The plaintiff has claimed she experienced nose bleeds and severe coughing after the first time she used Ecolab’s OxyCide products disinfecting hospital floors and sinks in 2017. A medical specialist advised her to stop working with OxyCide after her symptoms lasted for a couple months, according to the suit. She then found out her hospital coworkers suffered similar symptoms.
The plaintiff said that she and her colleagues followed OxyCide’s use and safety instructions while using the disinfectants but were still harmed, and that their experiences were not unique.
OxyCide Lawsuit & Litigation Guide – Meet The Attorneys
Interested in downloading our free OxyCide Litigation Guide? Learn more about the OxyCide Litigation Team at Johnson//Becker and Meet the Attorney and Co-Chair of our Consumer Products and Mass Tort Department.
What is OxyCide?
According to EcoLab (the manufacturer), OxyCide Daily Disinfectant Cleaner, dispensed by the OxyCide™ Dilution Management System, is a one-step disinfectant for use in hospitals that is effective against Clostridioides difficile (formerly Clostridium difficile) spores, Candida auris and a broad spectrum of other organisms. Its non-bleach formula is compatible with a wide range of materials and helps standardize and simplify the cleaning process for improved operational efficiency.
List of products associated with the OxyCide lawsuit:
- OxyCide™ Daily Disinfectant Cleaner and
- OxyCide™ Dilution Management System
What is The OxyCide Lawsuit About?
The OxyCide lawsuits allege that the manufacturer represented that the product was a safe alternative to other cleaners even though there were reports of OxyCide side effects among healthcare workers.
Additionally, the lawsuits allege that Ecolab concealed safety data from internal tests and ignored consumer complaints. They also claim that EcoLab allegedly knew their product was dangerous but did not adequately recommend proper safety measures to protect healthcare workers and other users of the product.
According to Ecolab, the product’s active ingredients are hydrogen peroxide and peracetic/peroxyacetic acid. The product’s safety-data sheet lists a number of precautionary measures for using the product if it is handled in its non-diluted form.
If handled “as sold,” the sheet says users should wear protective clothing like goggles, gloves and an apron. Users should also wear a respirator “when ventilation is inadequate and occupational exposure limits are exceeded.”
But these recommendations are not the same for use of the chemical in its diluted form, which is what is typically handled by hospital workers.
While the datasheet does not recommend protective gear when using OxyCide in its diluted form, it does recommend using it only with “adequate ventilation.”
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Investigation
When consumer complaints that OxyCide was causing side effects, the US government launched an investigation. The results of the investigation found that exposure to OxyCide did, in fact, cause dangerous side effects among the hospital employees.
The government also determined that the OxyCide Dilution Management System was unreliable and inconsistent.