A group of MetroAccess riders has filed a class-action lawsuit against Metro and a contractor, charging the transit service exposed them to potentially fatal tuberculosis. A driver on the service for people with disabilities had the contagious airborne disease and drove around riders for several months in 2008. Rider Ronnie Andrews filed the case on June 16 in D.C. Superior Court on behalf of other unnamed riders who may have been exposed.
Andrews did not get tuberculosis, the complaint said. But his attorney David Wasser said at least three of the approximately 90 riders who have signed onto the case have tested positive.
They have a latent form of the disease, he said, which does not show symptoms yet requires months of treatment and subsequent monitoring to prevent it from becoming active.
| What is tuberculosis? |
| The infectious disease is caused by bacteria spread through the air, often when a person with the active form of it coughs, sneezes or speaks near someone else, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bacteria most often attack the lungs but can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine and brain. |
| The disease can exist in a latent form, meaning people test positive but they do not feel sick and cannot spread the disease. But it could become active so they need treatment, often taking a drug for about nine months. |
| The disease is one of the world’s deadliest diseases, killing about two million people a year worldwide. But it has become less common in the US. In 2009, Washington, D.C., had 41 reported cases of tuberculosis, according to the latest statistics available from the CDC. |
In December 2008, Metro had said it sent a letter to 762 MetroAccess customers the month before who had contact with the infected driver between April and mid-October 2008. The agency and its contractor, MV Transportation, said they had provided the riders’ information to the District’s TB Control Program.
Wasser praised D.C. health officials for how they have dealt with the situation. But he said the exposure has caused hassles and stress to an already vulnerable group.
“This segment of the population are people who are dealing with more than their share of life’s problems,” Wasser said.
Some have medical conditions, such as HIV, that make them more at risk for catching tuberculosis, while others have psychological problems that add to the burden, he said. Some have physical conditions that make getting to treatment difficult.
He said one woman had to delay a kidney transplant for months. One family found out their foster child was on the list, potentially exposing their family of foster kids. “They were really upset,” Wasser said.
Others were scared to tell anyone and quarantined themselves from families and loved ones, he said.
And an untold number didn’t get the notices, he said. A blind rider didn’t know until reached by the attorneys, Wasser said, because he couldn’t read his mail. Some had moved from their addresses. He said the most vulnerable riders are likely the ones who didn’t receive the notification and may be homeless today.
Metro filed a motion to dismiss the case in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday. It acknowledges that one of its drivers was diagnosed with TB but has denied the other allegations in the court filings. Spokesman Steven Taubenkibel declined to comment further on the case, saying the agency does not comment on active litigation.
