Olympus® Bronchoscope Infection Lawsuit

Olympus is facing a growing number of lawsuits involving patients who were diagnosed with severe infections following endoscopic procedures with contaminated scopes.

What You Can Do & How We Can Help

The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Olympus bronchoscope cases in all 50 states. If you or a loved one suffered a serious lung infection, pneumonia, or another injury from a bronchoscopy with an Olympus scope, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Medical Device Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.

What Happened?

In June 2023, Olympus Corporation issued a Class I recall for over 15,500 bronchoscopes due to a risk of airway fires during therapeutic procedures.

The recall was later expanded in October 2023 to cover 17,691 devices that were distributed in the U.S. from January 1, 2001 to September 11, 2023.

How Many Injuries And Deaths Were Linked to Airway Fires?

The recall involves specialized medical devices known as bronchofiberscopes and bronchovideoscopes, which are long flexible tubes that are used to examine or treat a patient’s airways. The tip of the scope may have accessories like cameras, lights, and instruments.

There were 3 reported patient injuries, including 1 patient death that may be related to airway fires, according to Olympus. According to the recall:

“Using the affected bronchoscopes may cause serious adverse health consequences, including critical burns in a person’s airways or lungs, airway bleeding, trouble breathing, apnea, loss of consciousness, anoxic encephalopathy (brain injury due to lack of oxygen), or death. Injuries may lead to prolonged procedures, additional medical care, extended hospitalization, ICU care, and death.”

FDA Reports of Bronchoscope Infections and Patient Death

In June 2021, the FDA issued an Updated Safety Communication for flexible bronchoscopes and the risk of microbrial contamination, infection outbreaks, and patient deaths.

Between January 2010 and June 2015, the FDA received 109 reports of infection or device contamination involving flexible bronchoscopes. Between July 2015 and January 2021, the FDA said it received 867 reports of infections, including 7 reports of deaths.

In one of the reports of death, “the patient was involved in a multidrug resistant cluster in which a bronchoscope was identified as a commonality,” the FDA said.

The FDA also identified two recurring problems linked to infections and persistent contamination on bronchoscopes:

Failure to exactly follow the manufacturer’s reprocessing instructions for the scope
Continued use of scopes despite damage or other problems that increase the risk of contamination, such as device integrity, maintenance, and mechanical problems

What Infections Have Been Linked to Contaminated Bronchoscopes?

The FDA said that when reports named the specific microorganisms, the most frequently-reported organisms were Mycobacterium, Pseudomonas, Serratia, and Klebsiella. Mycobacterium includes tuberculosis and other lung infections, which is one reason a bronchoscopy-related infection can be mistaken for another disease.

Risks From Contaminated Bronchoscopes

Some of the potential risks from a contaminated scope may include:

Mycobacterium infections, including tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Serratia marcescens
Klebsiella species
Pneumonia and severe pulmonary infection
Bacteremia, sepsis, and septic shock
Empyema and lung abscess
Respiratory failure

Types of Olympus Bronchoscopes

Here are a few examples of bronchoscopes that are manufactured by Olympsu:

Olympus bronchofiberscopes and bronchovideoscopes covered by the Class I combustion recalls, including the EVIS EXERA II BF-Q180
EVIS EXERA II bronchovideoscopes BF-1T180, BF-1TQ180, BF-P180, and BF-Q180-AC, named in the June 2025 import alert
EVIS EXERA III bronchovideoscopes BF-MP190F, BF-P190, and BF-XP190, also named in the import alert
EVIS EXERA bronchofibervideoscopes BF-MP160F, BF-XP160F, BF-3C160, and BF-XT160
Bronchovideoscopes BF-1T150, BF-1TQ170, BF-P150, and BF-Q170
OES bronchofiberscopes BF-N20, BF-1T60, BF-3C40, BF-MP60, BF-P60, and BF-XP60
Bronchofiberscopes BF-PE2 and BF-TE2

FDA Blocks Imports of Olympus Bronchoscopes From Aizu Facility in Japan

In June 2025, the FDA issued Import Alert 89-04 that prevented 58 Olympus scopes that were manufactured at the company’s Aizu plant in Japan from entering the U.S. The import alert involved Olympus bronchoscopes and other devices.

Who May Qualify to File an Olympus Bronchoscope Lawsuit?

Our lawyers are evaluating claims involving any of these procedures performed from 2018 onward:

Bronchoscopy
Laparoscopy
Colonoscopy
ERCP
Upper Endoscopy
Ureteroscopy
Hysteroscopy
Sinus Endoscopy
Cystoscopy

The procedure must also have been followed by at least one of these serious injuries:

Diagnosis of a “superbug” or drug-resistant infection such as CRE or E. coli within 180 days of the procedure
Organ or tissue damage, or perforation
Dislodging or breaking of the endoscopic device
Severe bleeding or hemorrhaging that required hospitalization or a blood transfusion
Sepsis or bacteremia (blood infection)
Bacterial infection requiring hospitalization
Pneumonia or severe pulmonary infection
Tuberculosis within 90 days of the procedure
HIV diagnosis within 90 days of the procedure
Death from an infection, a “superbug,” or a component failure

Do I Have an Olympus Bronchoscope Infection Lawsuit?

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Olympus Bronchoscope Infection Lawsuit