Olympus Scopes Litigation Alleges Infections from Reusable Duodenoscopes

Years ago, lawsuits were brought against manufacturer Olympus based on allegations by patients that they had developed superbug infections after their doctors performed procedures using reusable duodenoscopes on them. These lawsuits are being brought again today. These reusable instruments are used in many, many endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures each year to diagnose and treat problems with the bile ducts, gallbladder, pancreas and liver. In one case, the plaintiff alleges that Olympus didn’t adequately warn doctors, hospitals, and patients that reusable duodenoscopes can retain antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, even when they are properly reprocessed. If you or a loved one was harmed by Olympus Scopes, please call the seasoned Chicago-based lawyers of Moll Law Group. Billions have been recovered in cases with which we’ve been involved.

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According to many of the plaintiffs in the recent duodenoscope suits, the duodenoscopes had design defects that made the scopes hard to clean such that contaminants stayed on the scopes and came into patients’ bodies during the procedures.

Duodenoscopes are used in hundreds of thousands of endoscopic retrograde (ERCP) procedures every year to examine, diagnose and treat issues in the liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile ducts. In the early 2010s, there were numerous outbreaks of superbugs across the country. Superbugs are serious because they can resist antibiotics, which makes them especially difficult to address. Superbugs include: C. diff CRE, ESBL, and MRSA. Olympus was required to pay $6.6 million to one hospital because of a superbug outbreak resulting in a patient death in 2017.

In 2025, the FDA issued an import alert in connection with many types of Olympus scopes, including bronchoscopes, endoscope reprocessors, laparoscopes, and ureterorenoscopes, commenting that there are continued concerns about them. Future shipments of these scopes to the United States were halted and doctors were told to talk about the pros and cons of these scopes with patients.

Months afterward, Olympus put out a field safety notice that warned there were added health dangers when duodenoscope were not properly cleansed between procedures. It also advised of new cleaning instructions. It disclosed that it had gotten two death reports and five serious injury reports arising out of infections that might be related to the duodenoscopes that were the subject of the field safety notice.

A superbug infection can be difficult to treat and expensive. If you develop a superbug infection after an Olympus scope was used in your procedure, you might be able to file a product liability lawsuit for compensation. These are lawsuits brought when a product has design, manufacturing, or marketing defects. In most cases, design defects exist in every unit of a product; in other words, the Olympus scopes may have design defects if every scope is designed according to specifications that make them more difficult to clean. Manufacturing defects are often one-off problems involving a deviation from the specifications for how to make the product; this means that only a few units or a batch of units will have a flaw in how it was made. Marketing defects are flaws in the information that comes with the product.

In some cases, a hospital may also share liability for a superbug outbreak.

Discuss Your Illness with a Product Liability Attorney

If you developed a superbug infection and suspect it was caused by a duodenoscope during a medical procedure, you should call the experienced Chicago-based product liability lawyers of Moll Law Group to determine whether you have a viable claim for damages. Complete our online form or call us at 312.462.1700.