Sheri Sangji update: recent articles

Three articles have been written recently about the Sheharbano "Sheri" Sangji case; all are worth reading for those interested in this case. In chronological order, they are:

1. A report by the California Fatality Assessment and Control Program, which is a unit of the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety. In my opinion, it is the most rational, factual and professional (possibly only?) safety analysis of the case released to date. New fact: Sheri Sangji was using a 20 gauge 2-inch needle on the 60 mL syringe used for the transfer.

2. Jyllian Kemsley continues to ably cover the case from her perch at C&E News. Her article neatly summarizes UCLA's attempt to appeal the findings of Cal/OSHA in order to avoid future legal liability. Among the relevant facts in Ms. Kemsley's article: both the family and the union for lab techs are trying to influence the appeal. Union representatives have done walkthroughs of the chemistry labs in May and there are still folks not wearing lab coats in the labs. The family has not yet filed a lawsuit, but wishes for the District Attorney to investigate.

3. Kim Christensen of the Los Angeles Times further covers the family's objections to the state's investigation and fines of UCLA. The article introduces a number of facts into the public realm that will be covered in the next post: speculation as to the scale of the reaction (ranging from 20-150 (!)mL), hexanes that may have caused further injury to Ms. Sangji and finally, suspicions of tampering with the lab after the accident.