$506,000 Awarded In Death Of Student In Lab Experiment -- Pierce College, Lab Supplier, Hospitals Share Payment

The family of a Pierce College student who died after drinking a saline solution as part of a school laboratory experiment two years ago has won a $506,000 out-of-court settlement.

The settlement between the family of Dawn Collins, the Tacoma school and two medical facilities was reached last week and announced yesterday.

It calls for E.M. Diagnostic Systems Inc., a laboratory-supply manufacturer, to pay $225,000 for failing to label as a poison the substance Collins ingested, said Vern Harkins, one of two Tacoma attorneys who represented the family.

Harkins said Pierce College is to pay $160,000, the Multicare Medical Center $75,000 and Lakewood Hospital $46,000. The settlement also calls for the college to set up a scholarship in Collins' name.

The 29-year-old Puyallup resident died June 5, 1988, four days after being given a saline solution for a simple laboratory experiment in an anatomy and physiology class.

Another student, Shellie McCallen, 18, of Tacoma, also drank some of the solution. She suffered chest pains but survived.

Collins and McCallen took part in a supervised experiment during which two students drank a small amount of solution ``A'' and eight drank the same amount of solution ``B.''

The solution differed only by the ratio of salt to water, a spokesman for the 4,500-student, state-run community college has said.

Collins was admitted to Lakewood Hospital the day she drank the solution but was released the following day. Toxicity wasn't suspected until she was gravely ill, Harkins said.

Forensic tests found that the saline solution had been buffered with poisonous sodium azide, and that was the principal cause of death.

Pierce College President Frank Brouillet today said the school has changed its procedures and no students ingest anything in experiments.

``One problem was the solution was not labeled as poison,'' Brouillet said. ``We've relabeled everything and have tighter control on use so this situation doesn't happen again.

``Everybody's pleased that it's settled. It's been two years. For quite a while there was a cloud hanging over the college.''