Hospital May Have Given Patients HIV in Ortho Surgeries!

This is shocking!  Patients do not expect this to occur ever.  It is very serious and horrific medical malpractice, let along just basically gross negligence.

In Colorado, a hospital has a sterilization breach and exposed patients at risk for infection to HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.  The patients that were exposed were the ones who had orthopedic surgeries which included spine surgeries for approximately SEVEN MONTHS.

YES, you read that right.

SEVEN MONTHS of orthopedic surgeries and spine surgeries at a single hospital may have exposed patients to very serious conditions like HIV, hep b, and hep c.

This was after an inspection by the state department of health, which determined that the process of cleaning surgical instruments following these orthopedic surgeries and spinal surgeries was inadequate.  And some of the cleaning procedures actually compromised the sterilization of instructions further, creating a larger risk.

The department of health state that the risk is very low to transmission, and the techniques to sterilize have been fixed now so patients are currently not at risk, but there was a very serious issue before it was corrected.

If a patient does contract any of these diseases, that will be very serious medical malpractice and result in significant liability.  If this happened in New York, it may even qualify for res ipsa loquitur.  This is when the negligence speaks for itself and does not normally occur in the absence of negligence, one party is in the exclusive control of the instrumentality, the patient did not contribute to the medical malpractice.  In the situation above, it is clear that res ipsa loquitur would apply when the hospital does not properly sterilize equipment and the patient contracts an infectious disease.

But what do you think?  I would love to hear from you!  Leave a comment or I also welcome your phone call on my toll-free cell at 1-866-889-6882 or you can drop me an e-mail at jfisher@fishermalpracticelaw.com.  You are always welcome to request my FREE book, The Seven Deadly Mistakes of Malpractice Victims, at the home page of my website at www.protectingpatientrights.com.