Minnesota AG Ellison Sues Illinois-Based Companies Over Failing To Deliver COVID Test Results
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The state is suing two COVID-19 test providers.
Two Illinois based companies, Center for COVID Control, LLC and Doctors Clinical Laboratory, Inc., are being sued for impacting Minnesotans who are trying to keep themselves, their families and the community safe.
"These entities collected samples from Minnesota for COVID-19 testing but either failed to deliver test results or delivered test results that were either false or inaccurate," Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said.
His office began getting complaints two weeks ago.
"My family and I had tried to go to one of the state testing sites that we were familiar with and had used several times, but the waits were so long," said Hannah Puffer.
She saw an add for free rapid testing and ran to one of Center for COVID Control's eight locations in Minnesota.
"We were told that we would be getting our results if they were positive we would get our results in 5 to 10 minutes, and if they were negative we would be getting our results in an email in 20 minutes, neither of those things happened by then end of the evening," Puffer said.
It's been over a week and Puffer has not received her test results.
Center for COVID Control, LLC has been featured in other CBS stories, with allegedly some of the same problems as Ellison claims are happening in Minnesota.
He says that former employees reported that while the company could initially handle its testing loads, its processing never expanded, even as it opened testing sites across Minnesota.
What followed was chaos, the workers said, with samples being stuffing into trash bags and employees being told to falsify receipts and lie to people about their tests being inconclusive, or even negative, even though their sample had not been processed.
Ellison's office is urging Minnesotans with concerns over their interactions with Center for COVID Control and Doctors Clinical Laboratory to contact them in the Twin Cities at 651-296-3353 or in Greater Minnesota at 800-657-3787.
