Minn. Records 13th Illness From Tainted Steroids

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Department of Health says nearly 1,000 Minnesotans received tainted injections from a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts.

No one has died in Minnesota from this outbreak as the state just got its 12th confirmed case, but 32 people have died in other states.

Pauline Floersch has a bulging disc in her spine and suffers from back and leg pain, and she got a steroid shot in August at Medical Advanced Pain Specialist (MAPS) Clinic Maple Grove.

She thought she was in the clear after getting a call from the clinic.

"I received a phone call from MAPS stating you're not impacted," she said. "You didn't receive one of those impacted shots. Everything should be fine."

Floersch says when she needed documentation for an impending surgery at another facility, they then told her they didn't know if she got bad medicine or not.

"I was told they couldn't tell me which lot my injection came from because of improper documentation of my procedure that day," she said.

Floersch says she's angry because they put her at risk twice, by giving her a second injection.

"Their answer to me was since you were not asymptomatic, we assumed you were OK," Floersch said.

She now has to wait until January to see whether she can get another procedure to rid her pain.

"I'm angry, it's malicious," she said. "They are lying to their patients. My health is now at risk."

WCCO talked with a representative from Medical Advanced Pain Specialist in Maple Grove and they told us they couldn't comment because of patient privacy laws.

Sonya Goins, Producer
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