The Quechan Nation has filed a lawsuit against the Indian Health Service after tribal members were potentially exposed to deadly viruses at a hospital in Arizona.

Staff at the Fort Yuma Hospital already admitted they failed to clean and sterilize medical equipment. The tribe says the IHS kept quiet about the incident for 15 months.

The lawsuit says the IHS is violating the Indian Health Care Improvement Act by failing to "provide the tribe and its members within the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation with health care facilities and services that meet generally accepted, appropriate, and best available standards of care," Courthouse News Service reported.

Members of the Cocopah Tribe are also affected by the exposure incident.

Get the Story:
Tribe Sues for 'Exposure Event' at Hospital (Courthouse News Service 10/26)

Related Stories:
Letter: Outrage against poor 'health care' for Native Americans (10/25)
Quechan Nation accuses IHS of violating its trust responsibility (10/08)
Another IHS clinic concerned about exposure to deadly viruses (10/7)
IHS patients in Arizona potentially exposed to deadly viruses (10/5)