Lab Chief Faces Sentencing in Michigan 12 Years After Fatal US Meningitis Outbreak

April 17, 2024

Unlabeled pill bottles in a pharmacy

(ABC News) – Donna Kruzich was one of at least 64 people in the U.S. who died because of tainted steroids made by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts. Nearly 12 years later, the operator of New England Compounding Center is returning to a Michigan court Thursday for his sentence for involuntary manslaughter.

Barry Cadden already is serving a 14 1/2-year sentence for federal crimes related to the extraordinary outbreak of fungal infections, which was traced to dirty conditions inside the lab and caused meningitis and other debilitating illnesses. More than 700 people in 20 states were sickened, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Read More)