Plea entered in 2012 deaths of 11 Michigan residents

The former owner of a company responsible for a nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak that killed 11 Michigan residents in 2012 has pleaded no contest to 11 counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Barry Cadden entered the plea yesterday in Livingston County. Cadden was initially charged with 11 counts of second-degree murder.

The 11 Michigan victims received epidural injections of the steroid medication methylprednisolone at a health clinic in Livingston County. The medication was produced at New England Compounding Center, which Cadden owned at the time.

The drug was contaminated due to the company’s disregard for sterility procedures, with laboratory cleaning records and scientific testing results regularly forged and fabricated.

The outbreak resulted in 64 deaths across the country.

Cadden’s Michigan plea includes a sentencing agreement of 10-15 years in prison.