Ventura : Clinic Fined $40,000 for Dumping Wastes

The Ventura County district attorney’s office has ordered Buenaventura Medical Clinic to pay $40,000 in civil penalties and investigative costs for dumping medical wastes in 1990, authorities said Tuesday.

The district attorney’s Consumer and Environmental Protection Division on Tuesday wrapped up the case that accused the Ventura clinic of unlawful business practices, Deputy Dist. Atty. Linda Groberg said.

The final judgment issued by Superior Court Judge Melinda A. Johnson includes a permanent injunction against the clinic. Any subsequent, intentional violations would result in harsher penalties, Groberg said.

The settlement comes 1 1/2 years after former clinic employee Pernell Winbush was convicted of dumping two days worth of medical waste in a Port Hueneme residential trash can, Groberg said.

In March, 1990, a scavenger looking for recyclable cans in the dumpster discovered needles, scalpels, blood vials and culture dishes and called county environmental officials, Groberg said.

Officials visited the scene the next day but could not tell where the waste came from. However, Groberg said, Winbush dumped a second batch that contained bottles marked with the name of the Loma Vista Road clinic. The waste was supposed to go to Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura.

Winbush was sentenced to 60 days in the Ventura County Jail for transporting and disposing of medical waste in November, 1990. He was ordered to pay more than $2,000 to the county for the investigation and cleanup and had to do 100 hours of community work.

Buenaventura Medical Clinic Administrator Thomas Becker said that to prevent a repeat occurrence, the clinic no longer transports its own waste. Instead, it has contracted with a courier to do the job.

“Certainly, it is painful to come up with $40,000,” he said. “It’s not something we like to do on a routine basis . . . but we’re not about to go through this again.”