The family of heart transplant patient Shelby Slagle agreed to the same settlement amount as the family of Tracy Fischer, another heart transplant patient at UPMC. Ms. Slagle and Ms. Fischer were two of four transplant patients at UPMC who died after contracting fungal infections post-transplant.
The mold problem was discovered in September 2015, and in May, a CDC report linked the improper use of negative-pressure rooms as a possible source of the fungal infections.
“The room within UPMC to which the decedent was assigned post-transplant was found to have been infested with Rhizomucor, a type of mold,” the settlement agreement says, according to Trib Live. “An autopsy indicated that the cause of the decedent’s death was bacterial and fungal infections.”
The family of one other now-deceased patient, Che DuVall, has brought a lawsuit against UPMC, but has not been approached for a settlement, according to the report.
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