Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

18 cases tied to hepatitis C outbreak settled

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Dr. Dipak Desai, the majority owner of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, leaves a hearing at Las Vegas City Hall on March 3, 2008.

Sun Coverage

Eighteen civil cases related to the hepatitis C outbreak have been settled.

District court spokesman Michael Sommermeyer said the settlements vary in amount but that Nevada Mutual Insurance settled with 18 individuals today in district court. The cases are the first to be settled.

About 5,000 lawsuits have been filed in connection with the outbreak.

Last week, the criminal investigation was handed over to the Clark County District Attorney’s office for possible criminal charges, likely against Dr. Dipak Desai and his endoscopy clinics.

The Southern Nevada Health District has linked nine hepatitis C cases to Desai’s facilities, but said 105 other patients could have been infected.

The outbreak prompted health officials to recommend testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV to about 50,000 patients.

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