Transcript - Wishard Hospital's Krannet Institute Being Sued - WTHR-TV 13 News - January 21, 1997

WTHR-TV 13 News
Indianapolis, Indiana
January 29, 1997
11:00 P.M

Lynda Moore: Good evening, I'm Lynda Moore, Ann Ryder is off tonight.

John Stehr: And I'm John Stehr.

J. Stehr: Tonight, some local health workers say a medical building is making them sick. And now they're taking Wishard Hospital to court. Night team reporter David Macanally has the story.

David Macanally: Patients are wheeled into hospitals to get better but some medical staff say they walked into this Wishard owned building and got sick.

Deborah Courtney (client of Kenneth B. Moll & Associates, Ltd): . my health, you know, I feel like somebody took it away from me

D. Macanally: In this lawsuit filed today, the workers say the Krannert Institute building has such bad ventilation that for years they breathed in toxic, dangerous and hazardous materials that are used here.

Erna Martin (client of Kenneth B. Moll & Associates, Ltd): I have nodules in my lungs, nodules in my liver, nodules in my adrenal glands.

Michael Klug (client of Kenneth B. Moll & Associates, Ltd): I have developed asthma during the time that I was working there. I developed worsening allergies which included, along with the allergy symptoms and the asthma, extreme fatigue

D. Macanally: A lawyer for the workers says Wishard just didn't take care of the building's heating and ventilation systems. He says these vents just got so clogged up with dirt and with mold that it was just as bad as covering them up with tape. The only fresh air that got into the building, the lawyer says, is whatever snuck in when somebody opened and closed the front door. And he says that opened the door to health problems like these . . .

(on screen) death cancer leukemia chronic fatigue chemical sensitivity asthma skin irritation immune system problems memory loss allergies

. . . for the patients we've shown you and for others who he says may still be out there but may not have yet linked their problems to Krannert.

E. Martin: I just hope and pray it stops other people from having this kind of problem and that people will clean up the buildings.

D. Macanally: Those ex-Krannert workers say their lives have been turned upside down. They are now so sensitive to every kind of chemical they say they can't even walk into grocery stores without having reactions to chemicals there. Wishard tonight is not commenting, it hasn't had a chance to see the suit yet.

L. Moore: Well David, have the employees come directly in contact with some of those chemicals?

D. Macanally: That's a good questions because some of them have yes, they actually worked in laboratories but others, no, they worked as secretaries, you know.

L. Moore: Ok thanks for that report.

L. Moore: The Kenneth Moll law firm in Chicago is trying to locate Krannert workers with similar health problems. Their number is 312.558.6444. And they will help you get a medical screening.