Endoscope Infection Lawsuit in South Carolina
Last Updated: August 8, 2026
South Carolina residents who developed a drug-resistant infection after an ERCP or another scope procedure bring these claims individually — there is no national proceeding to join, so this state's own deadline governs. South Carolina applies a 3-year deadline to personal injury claims, and recognizes the discovery rule, so the clock may run from when you learned the infection might be connected to the device rather than from the day you fell ill.
Lawsuits allege that reusable duodenoscopes and similar flexible scopes cannot be reliably disinfected between patients, so drug-resistant bacteria survive cleaning and infect the next person. Unlike the other mass torts on this site, these claims are filed individually — there is no federal MDL and no class action — which makes South Carolina's own law decisive rather than background. In South Carolina the personal injury statute of limitations is 3 years and the product liability deadline is 3 years, and a case would be filed in the South Carolina Circuit Courts or in federal court here. These are allegations under litigation, not established findings. NuLegal reviews these claims at no cost and connects qualified claimants with trial counsel.
Endoscope Infection Claims in South Carolina
A duodenoscope is a reusable flexible scope used in an ERCP, the procedure that reaches the bile duct and pancreas. It is cleaned between patients according to the manufacturer's written instructions. The claims allege that the design — long narrow channels, and at the tip a hinged elevator mechanism with crevices a brush cannot reach — makes that cleaning unreliable, so bacteria from one patient can survive and reach the next. That is an allegation under active litigation, not an established finding.
Why South Carolina law matters more here than in a typical mass tort: these cases are not gathered before one federal judge. Each is filed on its own, so the deadline that applies to you is South Carolina's, the court is a South Carolina court or a federal district sitting here, and the doctrines that shape what you have to prove are this state's. There is no national schedule carrying a case along.
South Carolina legal landscape: South Carolina applies modified comparative fault with a 50% bar and follows strict liability for defective products. The state caps punitive damages at the greater of three times compensatory damages or $500,000, with higher caps available if the defendant's conduct was driven by unreasonable financial gain. These doctrines shape how a product liability claim about a reusable medical device is pleaded, including a failure-to-warn theory about what the manufacturer told hospitals regarding whether its cleaning instructions actually worked.
Residents in Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, and Myrtle Beach and the surrounding areas would typically obtain the procedure and admission records from the facility that performed the ERCP. The device log identifying the specific scope, the reprocessing records, and the culture results are held by that facility and are obtained during the case rather than supplied by the claimant.
South Carolina Statute of Limitations
In South Carolina, the personal injury statute of limitations is 3 years and the product liability deadline is 3 years. An endoscope infection claim is generally pleaded as a product liability claim about a reusable device, so both deadlines can be relevant depending on how the claim is framed.
South Carolina recognizes the discovery rule. Under it, the clock may begin when you discovered — or reasonably should have discovered — that your infection might be connected to a contaminated scope, rather than on the date you became ill. That matters unusually much in this litigation because of how the information reaches patients: you are told you have an infection, you are treated for it, and nobody at the time suggests the device may have carried it. Patients characteristically learn of the possible connection years later, from news coverage or from a lawyer reviewing the records. A South Carolina claimant who learned of it recently may have a live claim even where the infection itself is old.
A second deadline may also be in play, and it is usually shorter. Where the facility's own handling of the scope is part of what happened, that theory is a claim against the hospital rather than against the manufacturer, and most states run it on a different clock — frequently a shorter one, and often with a pre-suit notice or expert-certificate step before a complaint can be filed. The numbers on this page are the South Carolina personal injury and product liability deadlines. They are not that one, and this page does not state it. If the facility may be involved, have the timing reviewed rather than assuming the longer figure applies.
Do not assume a deadline has passed without having it checked. How the personal injury and product liability statutes interact, whether the discovery rule applies to your facts, and whether any tolling doctrine is available are questions that turn on the specifics of your case.
Personal Injury SOL
3 years
Product Liability SOL
3 years
Discovery Rule
Yes
Where a South Carolina Case Is Filed
A South Carolina claim can be brought in the South Carolina Circuit Courts at the state level, or in federal court. The federal districts covering South Carolina are the District of South Carolina.
What does not happen here, and it is the difference worth understanding: a case filed in or removed to federal court is not transferred into a national proceeding, because none exists for these claims. There is no panel order gathering them, no single judge managing discovery for everyone, and no bellwether calendar. A South Carolina case is worked up and tried as its own case, on its own schedule, by the counsel handling it.
The defendants are the scope manufacturers — Olympus Corporation of the Americas, Fujifilm Medical Systems U.S.A., Inc. and Pentax of America, Inc — and, where the facility's own handling of the device is at issue, sometimes the hospital as well. Which of them can be sued in South Carolina depends on where the procedure was performed and on this state's jurisdiction rules.
State court
South Carolina Circuit Courts
Federal districts
District of South Carolina
What a South Carolina Review Looks At
Two facts decide whether a claim fits, and the rest is genuinely optional. If you are unsure about any of them, say so — an unknown answer routes the file to a person rather than closing it.
You had a scope procedure
An ERCP, an upper endoscopy, a colonoscopy or a similar procedure, whether in South Carolina or elsewhere. The facility's records name it if you are not certain what it was called.
An infection followed
You developed an infection afterwards. "An infection" or "I went septic" is a complete answer — you are not expected to know the organism.
You do not need the device details
Which company made the scope, what the organism was called, and even which facility performed the procedure are all optional. None of them is a fact a patient is told, and none can end a claim.
Within the filing deadline
The claim falls inside South Carolina's window (3 years for personal injury, 3 years for product liability). The discovery rule may extend it, and in this litigation it frequently does — patients are rarely told the device might have been the source.
South Carolina Endoscope Infection FAQ
What is the statute of limitations for an endoscope infection claim in South Carolina?
South Carolina applies a 3-year statute of limitations to personal injury claims and a 3-year one to product liability claims. South Carolina recognizes the discovery rule, so the clock may run from when you learned — or reasonably should have learned — that your infection might be connected to a contaminated scope, rather than from the date you fell ill. That distinction does more work here than in most litigation: a patient who develops a resistant infection after a procedure is told she has an infection, not that the device may have carried it, and the connection is one people characteristically learn years later from news coverage or from a records review. Deadlines are strict and missing one can bar a claim permanently.
Where would a South Carolina endoscope infection case be filed?
Because there is no federal MDL for these claims, a South Carolina case is filed on its own — either in the South Carolina Circuit Courts at the state level or in federal court. The federal districts covering South Carolina are the District of South Carolina. Which one applies turns on where the procedure was performed, where the defendants can be sued, and whether the amount and the parties support federal jurisdiction. There is no single court that gathers these cases and no judge setting one schedule for all of them, so a South Carolina claim proceeds on its own timetable from the day it is filed.
Could this also be a malpractice claim against the South Carolina hospital?
Sometimes, and the distinction matters for timing. A claim against the device manufacturer is a product liability claim about the scope's design. A claim against the facility for how it cleaned and handled that scope is a different theory, and in most states it runs on a different and often shorter clock, sometimes with a pre-suit notice requirement or an expert certificate before a complaint can be filed. The South Carolina deadlines quoted on this page are the personal injury and product liability ones. They are not the malpractice deadline, and nothing here should be read as stating it. If the facility's own handling of the scope may be part of what happened, that is a reason to have the timing reviewed quickly rather than to assume the longer number applies.
How does South Carolina product liability law apply to a reusable medical device?
South Carolina applies modified comparative fault with a 50% bar and follows strict liability for defective products. The state caps punitive damages at the greater of three times compensatory damages or $500,000, with higher caps available if the defendant's conduct was driven by unreasonable financial gain. An endoscope infection claim is a product liability claim about a reusable device sold with the manufacturer's own cleaning instructions, so these South Carolina doctrines govern how the claim is framed and what a claimant has to prove — including, on a failure-to-warn theory, what the manufacturer told hospitals about whether those instructions actually worked.
What do I need before a South Carolina case review?
Nothing formal, and less than most people assume. It helps to know roughly what year the procedure was and roughly when the infection started. You do not need to know which company made the scope, what the organism was called, or even exactly which facility performed the procedure — the screening accepts "I don't know" for all three, because none of them is a fact a patient is told. The documents that eventually matter are the facility's device log, its reprocessing records, and the culture results, usually held by the hospital in Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, and Myrtle Beach or nearby, and those are obtained during the case.
Do I have to travel anywhere to bring a South Carolina claim?
No. Counsel handles the filings and proceedings, and because these cases are not gathered into one federal proceeding there is no out-of-state court a South Carolina claimant would be transferred to for pretrial work. A South Carolina resident's case would be filed and litigated from where it is filed.
What does a South Carolina case review cost?
Nothing. NuLegal's review is free and carries no obligation. NuLegal reviews the claim and, where it qualifies, connects the claimant with trial counsel handling this litigation. Attorneys in this litigation work on a contingency fee basis. Submitting the form does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Related Resources
South Carolina Residents: Don't Wait
South Carolina's filing deadline is 3 years for personal injury claims, and with no national proceeding to carry a case along it is the only clock that matters. A free, no-obligation review takes a few minutes.
Free Case ReviewAdvertisement
Disclosure: NuLegal operates as a legal referral service. Attorney Ashkaan Hassan evaluates claims and refers qualified cases to specialized trial firms, earning a referral fee from the attorney's share of any recovery. Clients never pay out of pocket.