Reuters) – Sotera Health Co has agreed to pay $408 million to settle more than 870 lawsuits by people who say they or their family members were sickened from exposure to ethylene oxide, a chemical used to sterilize medical devices, near one of the company’s facilities.
Plaintiffs must still opt in to the settlement, which the company announced Monday. The deal is subject to approval by the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, where most of the cases have been consolidated for pretrial proceedings.
“This agreement represents a remarkable achievement for the plaintiffs and the people of Willowbrook who have fought so hard over the past four years,” said Patrick Salvi of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, in a statement.
Sotera and its Sterigenics unit, which operated the now-shuttered Willowbrook, Illinois facility, said it had settled to avoid the time and expense of protracted litigation, but denied that the facility posed any safety risk.
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Source: Reuters
