Law firms representing patients harmed by Olympus endoscopes can partner with us to acquire qualified clients whose cases align with the legal theories that have held up against early defense motions in active state and federal proceedings.
Families seeking legal action for injuries caused by defective Olympus duodenoscopes need experienced representation. Our expert team has the necessary marketing experience to successfully match these cases with your personal injury law firm. Atraxia Media can help you develop your case inventory and guide you through onboarding, intake review, client communication, and marketing, ultimately delivering Olympus endoscope cases that meet your requirements and increasing your firm's visibility.
Current signed contract costs: ***subject to change
The reliable and experienced team of marketing professionals at Atraxia Media uses the most effective approach to find and onboard clients who are a good fit for your law firm based on your criteria. The marketing strategy that helps us find patients affected by contaminated Olympus endoscopes can be divided into the following stages:
You may be eligible to file a claim for Olympus endoscope injuries if you:
From our first interaction with a potential client until the moment they sign the engagement letter, we handle everything, including ad development, social media buying, and screening. We only need to know the number of Olympus endoscope cases your law firm would like to receive. Atraxia Media's marketing process is more than just securing potential clients. It is a whole process of attracting and signing new clients as per your needs.
With an estimated 70 to 85 percent share of the US duodenoscope market by the early 2010s, Olympus was the dominant name in ERCP procedures. These procedures are used to diagnose and treat conditions involving the bile ducts, gallbladder, pancreas, and liver, with roughly 500,000 performed annually in the US. At that scale, a design flaw in Olympus's reusable scopes could touch thousands of patients across hundreds of hospitals without anyone realizing it.
The design flaw at the center of this litigation involves the elevator mechanism inside Olympus duodenoscopes. This mechanism contains moving parts and narrow crevices that trap biological material and drug-resistant bacterial biofilms that survive standard hospital reprocessing procedures. Because contamination persists inside the device even when cleaning instructions are followed correctly, these instruments transmit deadly pathogens from one patient to the next. Plaintiffs allege Olympus was aware of these contamination concerns years before U.S. hospitals and regulators were fully informed, and that the company failed to issue timely warnings or modify the design quickly enough to prevent widespread outbreaks.
Litigation reports and investigations tracked outbreaks at more than 40 hospitals around the world, with up to 404 patients reportedly infected and at least 35 deaths tied to contaminated Olympus scopes. Superbugs like CRE kill close to half the patients they infect once they enter the bloodstream, and those who survive often deal with permanent organ damage, long ICU stays, and devastating medical bills. A 2017 Washington state jury awarded $6.6 million to a plaintiff who contracted an infection linked to contaminated Olympus scopes, showing that juries are willing to hold the manufacturer directly accountable.
In December 2018, Olympus Medical Systems Corporation pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to failing to file required adverse-event reports involving infections connected to its duodenoscopes. The company agreed to pay an $80 million criminal fine and $5 million in criminal forfeiture, totaling $85 million, in one of the most significant corporate admissions in medical device litigation history. A U.S. Senate investigation concluded that Olympus had information suggesting contamination concerns before U.S. regulators and hospitals were fully informed, and criticized the company's reporting and communication practices.
OLYMPUS ENDOSCOPE LITIGATION
Location: Individual state and federal courts nationwide; no active federal MDL currently exists
Presiding Authority: Various state and federal judges across individual product liability proceedings
Plaintiffs: Patients who underwent ERCP procedures involving Olympus duodenoscopes and subsequently developed CRE or other drug-resistant infections, sepsis, organ failure, or other serious injuries, as well as families of patients who died following infection outbreaks linked to contaminated Olympus scopes
Defendants:
Products: Reusable Olympus duodenoscopes used in ERCP procedures, including the TJF-Q180V duodenoscope and other Olympus endoscopic devices, specifically the elevator mechanism design that plaintiffs allege harbors bacterial biofilms that survive standard hospital reprocessing protocols
Plaintiff Allegations: Those filing suit claim Olympus designed duodenoscopes with elevator mechanisms containing moving parts and narrow crevices that made the devices impossible to adequately sterilize under real-world hospital reprocessing conditions. Plaintiffs allege Olympus received reports of contamination and infection outbreaks before issuing adequate warnings to U.S. hospitals, doctors, and patients, and that the company continued to market and sell the affected devices despite knowing internally about the contamination risk. The guilty plea entered in December 2018 and the U.S. Senate investigation findings are frequently cited in active litigation to support failure-to-warn and fraudulent concealment allegations. The theories of liability include strict liability for defective design, failure to warn, negligence in product testing and reporting of adverse events and fraudulent concealment of known risks of contamination.
History:
2023 to 2026:
More FDA attention came Olympus's way over manufacturing and quality problems affecting multiple device lines. In October 2025, the company issued an Urgent Field Safety Notice conceding that existing reprocessing protocols weren't enough to prevent infection from spreading, and hospitals were told to use 10X magnification to check device tips before use. In June 2025, the FDA blocked 58 Japan-manufactured Olympus device models from entering the US market over serious quality compliance failures. January 2026 brought a recall of the original duodenoscope model.
2018 to 2022:
After pleading guilty in December 2018 to failing to file required adverse-event reports, Olympus Medical Systems Corporation agreed to $85 million in criminal fines and forfeiture. The FDA pushed for a transition to disposable parts and improved cleaning systems across the industry. Olympus brought out newer device technologies intended to cut contamination risks. Many of the resulting lawsuits were resolved through confidential settlements involving wrongful death, serious infections, and long-term complications.
2015 to 2017:
The FDA issued a major safety communication in February 2015 publicly warning healthcare providers that duodenoscopes could transmit infections even when cleaning instructions were followed correctly. A U.S. Senate investigation launched in March 2015 concluded that Olympus had contamination information before U.S. regulators and hospitals were fully informed. The first product liability lawsuits were filed across multiple states. A Washington state jury awarded $6.6 million in damages in 2017, the first major plaintiff verdict in the litigation.
2010 to 2014:
Hospitals report infections tied to Olympus endoscopes used in ERCP procedures. Bacteria, including CRE, E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, were found inside the devices even after recommended cleaning procedures. A major outbreak at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center became a national news story and one of the defining events in the litigation, with patients undergoing routine ERCP procedures contracting antibiotic-resistant infections linked to Olympus duodenoscopes.
Atraxia Media combines litigation intelligence with a fully in-house intake operation that identifies and signs the claimants mass tort firms need to build high-value dockets. The October 2025 Urgent Safety Notice, the June 2025 FDA import alert, and the January and March 2026 recalls have reopened a second wave of claimant exposure at a stage when no federal MDL exists, and acquisition costs remain well below what consolidation will bring. Wrongful death and severe injury claims are being filed now, and the firms signing those clients today will hold the strongest dockets when federal consolidation comes. Contact Atraxia Media today to discuss how we can help your firm capitalize on the current pre-MDL acquisition window.