The lawyer for the Klamath Falls girl burned in a freak hand sanitizer fire at Doernbecher Childrens' Hospital has
of the family's intent to sue.
A lawyer for Ireland Lane, 12, has formally notified Doernbecher Children's Hospital that the family is prepared to sue over a freak hand sanitizer fire that severely burned the Klamath Falls girl. She was staying there for observation following an unrelated fall at school.
Ireland Lane, then 11 years old, was admitted to the hospital for observation in February after losing consciousness at school. While there, she suffered second- and third-degree burns in a fire.
Investigators
static electricity ignited vapor from
r that in turn caused her t-shirt to catch fire. The t-shirt was saturated in olive oil that had been used to remove adhesive used in her brain scan.
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The legal notice adds new details of the family's position. The letter claims hospital staff improperly recommended Lane use olive oil to remove her adhesive, rather than the product normally used. It also questions making alcohol-based sanitizer available to children despite the manufacturer's warning to "keep out of reach of children."
Officials at Oregon Health & Science University, which operates Doernbecher, have said the fire was not due to safety problems. They declined to comment on the specifics in the lawyer's letter, saying legal cases "should not be tried in the media."
The family's lawyer,
, spoke
about the family's intent to pursue legal action against the hospital, but
was not mailed until last week.
-- Nick Budnick