California IN BRIEF : RIVERSIDE : Doctor Plans Suit in Mystery Fumes Case

The emergency room physician who was most seriously injured in the so-called mystery fumes case in February said that she is preparing to make a $6-million claim against Riverside County. Dr. Julie Gorchynski said in a statement that she still does not know exactly what caused her injury--deterioration of her knee bones caused by a lack of blood. Gorchynski and five other emergency room personnel at Riverside General Hospital were struck with nausea, dizziness and other symptoms after a cancer victim, Gloria Ramirez, was rushed to the hospital complaining of breathing difficulty. When a sample of her blood was drawn for analysis, attendants said it smelled foul. Several people, including Gorchynski, collapsed after smelling the blood sample, and the emergency room was evacuated. Ramirez died that night of what was determined to be kidney failure brought on by cervical cancer. The Riverside County coroner’s office said that after an exhaustive autopsy, it found nothing in Ramirez’s system to explain the alleged fumes.