Families: St. Joseph's To Blame For Children's Deaths

The parents of three young leukemia patients say their children died because St. Joseph's Hospital failed to protect them from mold stirred up during an expansion last year.

In a lawsuit filed in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, they claim the hospital should have known the children's weakened condition made them particularly susceptible to mold-related infections.

"They failed to protect the children whose parents put them into their care," Steve Yerrid, the families' attorney, said today.

In an e-mail, St. Joseph's spokeswoman Lisa Patterson said: "We take necessary measures to reduce infections throughout our hospitals."

Suing the hospital are: Mathew and Karen Gliddon on behalf of their son Mathew, 5; Patricia Gunn on behalf of her daughter Kaylie, 2; and Daniel and Mary Lynn Kesler on behalf of their daughter Sierra, 9.

Mathew Gliddon died April 16, Kaylie Gunn-Rimes died May 3 and Sierra Kesler died May 13.

The children were suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia. They were being treated in the pediatric oncology rooms on the second floor of the Clyde Perry Cancer Institute at St. Joseph's while the hospital was expanding the outpatient area on the ground floor between January and March 2008.

According to the lawsuit filed Tuesday, the children were moved around the St. Joseph's campus for various treatments, but the hospital didn't protect them from dust and spores kicked up by the construction. All three developed infections from aspergillus, a mold.

Yerrid said it is common to see an increase in airborne infections during such construction projects.

Lola Russell, a spokeswoman for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said invasive aspergillosis usually affects people with compromised immune systems and those getting chemotherapy for cancers such as leukemia.

She said most people inhale some form of aspergillus spores each day, but it causes no harm to those with healthy immune systems because they can flush the spores out of their system.

Russell said studies have shown the invasive form of the disease can occur during building renovations and construction.

Patterson said the hospital took steps to reduce such risks during the expansion project, including using barriers around construction areas, filtering the air and monitoring ventilation systems.