What happened to the unsuspecting patients who were infected with hepatitis C by a scrub tech with a drug habit was unfair and egregious. They deserve our sympathy.
But their request to be present when the tech, Kristin Parker, gives blood, takes a polygraph and is debriefed by prosecutors is inappropriate and intended only to further the lawsuit they filed against Rose Medical Center and Parker.
The normal civil process already affords the victims in this situation adequate opportunity to pursue their case. U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn, who is presiding over the criminal case, should deny their unusual request.
It may be tough to say no to people whose lives have been irrevocably changed by what happened.
The people infected were at Rose for treatment when Parker swiped syringes filled with pain medicine, injected them into herself, then filled the syringes with saline solution. She put the used syringes back on surgery carts for use on patients.
Along with not receiving needed pain relief, thousands of patients potentially were exposed to the hepatitis C that Parker was infected with.
Genetic testing showed 15 people contracted the disease from Parker.
Parker was initially charged in federal court with dozens of counts of tampering with a consumer product and obtaining drugs by deceit.
In an agreement forged with prosecutors, she pleaded guilty in September to a reduced number of charges in a deal that includes a 20-year prison sentence. Sentencing is set for January.
On Wednesday, victims in the criminal case filed motions asking to participate in the debriefing, blood testing, and polygraph testing of Parker.
They also are seeking material from the grand jury investigation of Parker.
In their motion, the victims say prosecutors had agreed to allow representatives from Rose Medical Center, which is being sued in civil court by the victims, to be present.
The presence of Rose staff was intended to provide assistance to prosecutors who are not as familiar with hospital procedure. However, that invitation has been rescinded, said Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the Colorado U.S. Attorney’s Office.
And it should be rescinded. Rose personnel have no place at those proceedings either.
But the fact that the invitation had been extended makes it easier to understand why the victims would seek access. If one side in the civil suit was to be present, the other side would want to as well.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, which opposes the victims’ request, has offered to take questions from the patients and pose them to Parker. Prosecutors also have offered to allow the victims to see a recorded version of Parker’s debriefing.
That should suffice, we think. This is a difficult situation and these victims have suffered. But their civil case ought to unfold in civil court, not as prosecutors wrap up a high- profile criminal case.
