The lawsuit announced Monday and filed in King County Superior Court said the Center for COVID Control “failed to deliver prompt, valid and accurate results,” made deceptive promises of results within 48 hours, and reportedly instructed its employees to “lie to patients on a daily basis,” The Seattle Times reported.
The lawsuit also said the Center for COVID Control stored tests in garbage bags — rather than properly refrigerating them — backdated sample-collection dates so stale samples would still be processed and instructed its employees to lie when Washington residents asked about delayed results. The Center for COVID Control sites had been operating in Washington state since October and was increasingly popular particularly after the rapid spread of the omicron variant prompted a rise in demand for tests.
City officials in Lakewood, Washington, issued a stop-work order at their local site in mid-January after receiving complaints about the company and finding it was operating without a business license, “among other concerns,” the city said.