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Michael Stravato
Sandra and Shanoop Kothari of Houston, Texas, are shown last year holding a photo of their children Hanna and Harrison. Harry died on Dec. 1, 2010 at the age of 2.
The parents of a toddler who died after contracting a rare bacterial infection blamed on contaminated medical wipes have settled their lawsuit against the Wisconsin firms that made them.
Sandra Kothari, 38, of Houston, declined to release details of the financial arrangement reached with the Triad Group and H&P Industries Inc. of Hartland, Wis.
But the mother of 2-year-old Harrison Kothari said she and her husband “reluctantly” sought to settle the case instead of bringing it to trial on the advice of lawyers.
Court records filed Friday confirmed the action.
“Personally, for me, it’s not because I didn’t want to do it,” she said, adding: “It was never about the money.”
The Kotharis sued H&P and the Triad Group in February 2011 after a massive recall of medical prep wipes potentially contaminated with a rare bacterium, Bacillus cereus. They said the wipes led to an infection with the same germ that killed their son.
An msnbc.com investigation showed that federal Food and Drug Administration officials had detected problems with sterilization and contamination for years at the sister firms in Wisconsin, yet had taken no action to stop them.
Additional recalls of other products because of threats of bacterial contamination and the seizure of more than $6 million in medical products and supplies eventually shuttered the Wisconsin firms, which have yet to reopen.
Representatives from H&P and the Triad Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the settlement. Company officials have consistently said that there was no conclusive proof that their medical wipes and swabs caused any illness, injury or death.
Sandra Kothari said the expense and stress of a trial would not have accomplished her goal, which was to ensure the company didn’t continue to distribute tainted wipes and to pressure the government for better oversight.
“I wanted [H&P] to be penalized, and I guess, in a way, they have been,” she said.
At least 10 lawsuits nationwide have alleged that tainted H&P and Triad products have caused serious infections, illnesses or deaths. It wasn’t immediately clear if other suits would be dismissed as well.
A second firm, Pacific Disposables Inc. of Orangeburg, N.J., recalled 300 million individual prep pads last fall because of potential contamination with the same kind of bacteria cited in Harry Kothari's death.
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Sometimes settling for less is best. It can be emotionally draining to keep the anger on the surface for years on end as a lawsuit drags on. This way, they can move on with their lives.
I wish them all the best.
If it wasn't about the money than why did they settle, presumably signing a non-disclosure agreement in the process. If it is not about the money, you do not settle for money in return for not talking about it, you take it all the way to trial to get a public verdict that the company did something wrong. My guess is they were told by the lawyers that the settlement offered was reasonable and that they either needed to take the settlement or find new lawyers. Lawyers do not want to spend the time and resources to take something to trial unless there is a lot to be gained by doing so. If the settlement was in line with what the attorneys thought they could get in a jury award, they would not want to waste the resources to take it to trial when there was no financial gain for doing so. In the end, it is always about the money, because in a civil suit, that is all there is to get. What they should have done was not filed the civil suit at all and pressed to district attorney to file manslaughter charges against the corporate officers who allowed the unsanitary conditions to continue without correcting them. Once you file a civil suit, the district attorney usually drops any pursuit of criminal charges because the parents become tainted as witnesses since they are after money.
Word, JS. They should have pursued the criminal charges, and THEN filed civil suit. Problem is that not many lawyers, as you said, would be interested in taking it on.
I might disagree, we can only speculate about their motivations and suing was all they could legally do. When we are hurt by something the basic instinct is to strike back at it and losing a child is a terrible blow. Not all that rational but making the company pay financially brings a sense of justice for their terrible loss, the knowledge that this will dissuade them from doing it again and of course the money too. It could be like parents that try to get (usually stupid) laws passed to prevent whatever happened to their child, to give their loss meaning. I agree that their lawyers must have advised the settlement offered was reasonable, but it could be they have found enough peace in that, been emotionally drained by then, had to consider the effect on themselves and the rest of their family and so decided to take it.
But I doubt a DA would drop a case because a suit had been filed. Any defense attorney can just as much impeach a witness by just asking if they intend to bring a suit. More often a civil suit is deferred if criminal charges are brought because criminal charges have a higher standard of proof (beyond a reasonable doubt) and can't be contested in an ensuing civil case (preponderance of the evidence), then all there is to try in the civil case is how much damages to award. It's like the $30M OJ civil case, delayed until the criminal case finished, but there they had to prove their case because he was found not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
GeorgeS-5593679, I agree George. What were they going to do? Nothing? I doubt anyone would not sue after losing a child.
I also do not agree with this statement: "Once you file a civil suit, the district attorney usually drops any pursuit of criminal charges because the parents become tainted as witnesses since they are after money." That is not the case at all...here, or in general.
The main reason people often wait for criminal charges to be resolved, is that if the defendant is found guilty, that it strengthens their civil case. While credibility can be attacked in a criminal case, these people would have been hard to impugn, and their testimony would have been VERY minor in a case that revolved around the manufacture of the wipes. They would only be able to testify that they bought them, and their child died, and no one was really disputing that.
If it is not about the money, you do not settle for money in return for not talking about it, you take it all the way to trial to get a public verdict that the company did something wrong.
It's really easy to say this but in the end what purpose does that serve? First off their is no guarantee they would even win if they pursued the it all the way. But even if they won a court case what would be the point? Sure it would hurt the company in the public's eyes, but things like this are often forgotten quickly by the public. In the end this family would be damaged more in trying to pursue a judgement because of the time and emotional energy and expense they would have to invest in the case just so that years down the line, someday the company might be found liable. IF they even win the case. At least this way they could hurt the company financially, because I bet they got a fairly large settlement. When people say it's not about the money, in cases like this, it's not really about the money, so much as it's about holding the company responsible. A settlement still accomplishes that, and the effect may not be as damaging for the company as a judgement but the company as least has implied guilt since they settled and this family can move forward with their lives.
The top five executives of Triad and H&P should be shot
with a squirt gun.
The FDA did nothing to stop the problem, therefore, they are also responsible.
I don't know if I want the FDA responsible for anything.
That's like saying the police are responsible because they did not stop crime. And the FDA is probably understaffed.
True, but in this case the FDA knew about this before hand and did nothing. Sounds pretty negligent to me. if a cop lets or knows a person is driving drunk and decides not to arrest and let them go on their way, is that cop responsible if an accident occurs. Yes! maybe not as much as the drunk but yes none the less
The FDA is absolutely responsible for enforcement of regualtory requirement in the produciton of this type product, however, as previously mentioned, they are too understaffed to accomplish much - and this will worsten if conservatives continue to listen to capitalists who want all "job-killling" regulations eliminated whether it be EPA, FDA, USDA, OSHA, you name it. These agencies were designed to keep consumers safe from scupulous providers or sloppy work that could result in the injury or illness of affected people but they have been so watered down by the pressure of lobbyists who want "smaller government" that their contribution is merely a shadow of what it should be.
I am sorry for the loss of their child, but why is it that the suits are never for the money?
A lot of times, money is the only way you can hit a company where it hurts.
I wonder why the government go after the companies' executives under a criminal trial?
Jennifer is right - all a court can do (in this country) is order monetary damages. The alternative would be to handle it the way China did with the tainted milk cases that resulted in child deaths - execute the executives in charge.
The executives here should be happy that they will at best lose their jobs after costing the shareholders by putting profits ahead of the safety of their customers. And they had insurance for that, I am sure.
It is unfortunate that the definition of "justice" has been, seemingly, so inextricably tied to the award of monetary damages. I wonder at times if we even have any comprehension of what justice is at all... I doubt it.
The justice here is the negative publicity the company has garnered plus the monetary damages awarded to the family.
I don't believe there is any one person that can be linked to the death of this child through negligence, it was the practices of both the company and the FDA that caused his death.
they think they are hurting the company but they are not- its the rest of us that have to pay for their windfall and I for one am sick of it. its called life- @!$%# happens get over it or not but move on and stay out of my checkbook
Seriously, they lost their child. You are heartless.
Jennifer is right. Of course, if you remember the tainted milk scandal in China, the people in charge of the dairies that produced the tainted milk were executed. The executives were lucky that they have only cost their shareholders and will now lose their jobs. That is nothing compared to a family that lost a 2 year old because of a company's desire to place profits ahead of safety.
So it wasn't clear or not if the products caused the illnesses and deaths. Why didn't the companies just go to trial. It sounds like they are going bankrupt anyway.
It sounds more like the companies manipulated the plaintiffs into believing that it was not worth their while to pursue their case... I wonder about the lawyers who surely must have dissuaded them from pursuing a criminal complaint.
Because by suing the company, maybe they will check their products better and thus this will hopefully not happen again. And Jennifer is right, hurt them in the pocketbook is where they will hurt the most.
It sounds like these companies won't be making products anymore. It is a lesson learned for their competitors if anything.
Sandra Kothari, 38, of Houston, declined to release details of the financial arrangement reached with the Triad Group and H&P Industries Inc. of Hartland, Wis. This is what happens when criminal organizations such as the Triads are allowed to do business with private companies.
YEA!
What's next? The yakuza making tongue depressors? cosa nostra making bed pans? russian mafia making heart defibrillators? HUH?
All the money in the world won't bring back their son. I am sorry for their loss. Companies that get by with shoddy sanitation procedures will get caught sooner rather than later. The settlement wasn't about the money for "them."
It was about making companies responsible for their disregard for human life, in this case their young son.
Maybe they will start a foundation in memory of their son with their settlement.
Ultimately, though, the out-of-court non-disclosure agreement with monetary damages awarded allows the responsible party to go, effectively, unpunished, with only minimal damage to their reputation at large. This is NOT justice.
hopefully the FDA handles this after their public let down to keep Americans safe.
The look on the mother's face says it all :(
Really now!!! What was the whole purpose of the lawsuit if it wasn't about the money?
@OK...I think to put them out of business, punish them and set a standard.
Sorry for their loss...Nothing can console them but time and the grieving process.
Seems they may have been dissuaded by their counsel early on from pursuing a criminal case. Although, had they gotten a manslaughter conviction against said company, their civil suit would have been a cakewalk. Unfortunately, they probably would have had to go through many lawyers to find the right one.
Have any chinese working at these places? Worked I should say. Fried Rice Syndrome?
She should have released the amount of the settlement Then the companies that take short cuts, and endanger lives would know what to look forward too.
Wisconsin eh, home of those that continue to vote for idiots like ur governor, I have quit drinking milk, eating cheese, and ask why a third world country is within our borders?
You better believe I would be doing something about it if this happend to my toddler. These parents are correct. When they said it's not about the money, I agree with them. But to big corporations, money is everything. So to file a lawsuit, they're hitting them where it hurts--and that's just what the corporation deserves. Good luck to this couple and their family, nothing can ever take away the pain of losing a child and they'll always miss him.
JoNel, your inability to research is pretty obvious, how can you mix up the names of the largest manufacturer of prep pads, you called the PACIFIC disposables, when in fact it is PROFESSIONAL disposables.
No wonder your not in real printed articles. This makes me question your ability to report this story correctly. I am starting to believe that this is slander and not real news. please do us a favor and stop writing.
It is very distressing to see so many of our loved ones become a slave to death. The bible teaches us that mankind isn’t meant to die. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says “Everything he has made pretty in its time. Even time indefinite he has put in their heart, that mankind may never find out the work that the [true] God has made from the start to the finish.” So it’s a fact that mankind’s original purpose was to live on Earth forever. One day people will be restored to life right here on the Earth and be reunited with their loved ones. Jesus promised us that at John 5:28,29 it states “Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life…”
I can't imagine a worse torture than living forever.
Sad for their loss. If had gone to trial, chance all the high power corporate lawyers could have proved no responsibility and the family would have lost. Just a chance.
These companies do not give a rats ass about causing pain and disease. They have insurance against such things. Its all about the numbers. Let the right wingers think about this one. Free markets can regulate themselves? I dont think so. Sue the @!$%# out of them.