The family of U.S. Ebola patient zero Thomas Eric Duncan, who was the first—and so far the only—person to die in America from the disease, has settled with the Dallas hospital that cared for Duncan, Reuters reports.
The family will not have to pay for the care that Duncan received while he was being treated at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. The full details of the deal, however, were not made available, the news wire notes.
According to Reuters, a lawsuit against the hospital would probably have been a stretch because Texas’ regulations make it one of the hardest places in the U.S. to sue professionals for malpractice, especially concerning mistakes that happen in the emergency room.
Duncan, a Liberian who was visiting family in Dallas, first went to the hospital seeking help after he felt ill, when he told hospital officials that he had been in one of the countries hardest hit by the deadly virus.
Despite that fact, he was set home with antibiotics, only to be taken back to the hospital by ambulance two days later, ultimately becoming the first person to be diagnosed in the U.S. with Ebola. He died less than two weeks later.
Two nurses who helped care for him—Nina Pham and Amber Vinson—ended up contracting the virus from Duncan but recovered. Both are now Ebola-free.
According to Reuters, the hospital apologized to the family for not being able to save Duncan and acknowledged its mistake in initially discharging him.
Read more at Reuters.