Kaiser to pay $49 million to California for illegally dumping private medical records, medical...

Kaiser Permanente has agreed to pay $49 million as part of a settlement with California prosecutors who say the health care giant illegally disposed of thousands of private medical records, hazardous materials and medical waste, including blood and body parts, in dumpsters headed to local landfills, authorities said Friday

Prosecutors started an investigation in 2015 after undercover trash inspectors found pharmaceutical drugs, and syringes, vials, canisters and other medical devices filled with human blood and other bodily fluids, and body parts removed during surgery inside bins handled by municipal waste haulers. They also found batteries, electronic devices and other hazardous waste in trash cans and bins at 16 Kaiser medical facilities throughout the state, Attorney General Rob Bonta said.