BOSTON (AP) -- A hearing has been scheduled on a request for an independent trustee to oversee the bankruptcy proceedings of a firm linked to a meningitis outbreak.

The hearing on U.S. Trustee William Harrington's request is scheduled for Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Springfield.

A steroid produced by the New England Compounding Center has been linked to a fungal meningitis outbreak that's killed 44 and sickened more than 600. The firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, saying the purpose was to establish a compensation fund for victims.

Harrington then requested the Chapter 11 trustee, citing reasons including the firm's "gross incompetence" and a purported conflict of interest involving the accountant the firm chose to lead it through bankruptcy.

The company opposes the request, saying it would hinder progress toward establishing the fund.