Amazon Faces SteriCare Lawsuit After Saline Solution Caused an Infection, Leg Amputation

Man indicates that Amazon sold contaminated SteriCare solution, which he used to clean a foot wound, resulting in a sepsis infection that cost him the extremity.

Buying contaminated SteriCare products on Amazon.com led to the amputation of a man’s foot, according to a lawsuit brought by a South Carolina couple.

Charles Crummie and his wife, Jamie, filed the complaint (PDF) in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina on February 9, presenting claims against various companies responsible for the manufacturing, distribution and sale of the supposedly sterile water, including Nurse Assist LLC, Neurovend LLC (doing business as State Side Medical Supply), Amazon.com Inc., Tower Three Partners LLC, BPGC Management LP, Spinnaker International LLC and R Investments LLC as defendants.

According to the couple’s claims, Charles Crummie used SteriCare sterile water products that were later included in a nationwide Nurse Assist Recall issued in November 2023. The recall followed an FDA warning that faulty packaging seals on certain sterile water and saline products could allow bacterial contamination.

The couple joins several other individuals currently pursuing Nurse Assist SteriCare infection lawsuits after developing severe, and in some cases fatal, complications linked to the contaminated products, which were sold by Amazon and other major retailers for wound care and other medical treatments.

The complaint indicates that Charles Crummie went to the Emergency Department in January 2023, due to a red and swollen left foot wound, where he was treated for a methicillin susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) infection. This led to Crummie undergoing debridement of the wound and the placement of a PICC line for extended antibiotic treatment.

After being discharged with instructions on cleaning the wound, Crummie received outpatient wound debridement and a wound vac, but also bought Nurse Assist SteriCare through Amazon.com for at-home cleaning and treatment.

Amazon.com shipped a 500 mL bottle of SteriCare from Stateside Medical Supply, which arrived on February 9, 2023. However, Crummie was back at the hospital suffering from labored breathing, fever and altered mental status by February 24. He was immediately sent to the Emergency Department over concerns of necrotizing fasciitis and other signs of infection.

Crummie was hospitalized and diagnosed with shock, sepsis, fever and strep (group A) pyogenes bacteremia.

“Plaintiff’s infection continued to progress, requiring him to undergo a below knee amputation of the left extremity on February 25, 2023 due to sepsis. Plaintiff was required to undergo a revision of the amputation on February 27, 2023 due to bleeding at the surgical site.”

– Charles Crummie et al v. Nurse Assist LLC et al

Months later, the products were recalled due to contamination risks, and Crummie received notification from Amazon that he had purchased the contaminated SteriCare water in December 2023.

The Crummie’s lawsuit presents claims of violation of South Carolina Code, failure to warn, defective design and manufacture, negligent design, negligent failure to warn, negligent misrepresentation and breach of warranty.

Amazon SteriCare Sterile Water Lawsuits

The complaint comes as Stericare sterile water lawsuits continue to be filed nationwide against Amazon and other distributors, each alleging that the companies failed to ensure the products were as sterile as advertised.

Individuals who developed infections after using the recalled products may qualify for compensation. Product liability lawyers are currently reviewing claims on behalf of individuals who experienced:

• Sepsis or septic shock
• Bloodstream infections
• Respiratory infections
• Organ failure
• Necrosis or serious wound-related infections
• Prolonged hospital stays or additional surgeries