Seattle – MultiCare Health Systems of Washington will change procedures and set aside more than $2 million to compensate patients whose civil rights were violated by a failure to provide appropriate interpreter services, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.

MultiCare Health Systems of Washington will change procedures and set aside more than $2 million to compensate patients whose civil rights were violated by a failure to provide appropriate interpreter services, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. An investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) revealed that two patients, who are deaf-blind, failed to receive appropriate interpreter services both before and after surgery.

The two patients will each receive $100,000. The family members of each patient who were forced to become interpreters in these stressful situations are each being compensated with $40,000.