Personal Injury Law

Colorado: Surgery Tech suspected of exposing 5,700 to Hepatitis C

By Hurley, McKenna & Mertz

The Colorado Spring Gazette (7/2) reports, ?Federal officials Thursday warned that about 5,700 surgery patients, including 1,000 at a Colorado Springs surgery center, are at risk of having been infected by an operating room technician with hepatitis C,? because the surgery tech admitted to swapping her dirty syringes filled with saline for syringes filled with Feltanyl, a narcotic that is 100 times stronger than morphine. She was a former heroine addict who admitted that she was virtually positive she had previously been exposed to Hepatitis C years before.

Hundreds of surgery patients got only saline and exposure to Hepatitis C instead of pain killers during post operative care, while the surgery tech injected herself with their painkillers both at home and in hospital bathrooms before surgery. She was discovered when another surgery tech reported her for being in an operating room to which she was not assigned. She was then tested for drugs and tested positive for Feltanyl.

The Colorado hospital released statements expressing their apologies and extreme sorrow for the infected patients and their families. The hospital is offering free testing to surgery patients, and has set up a phone help line for patients and their families. Unfortunately, exposure to the Hepatitis C virus, for which there is no vaccine, can lead to extremely severe consequences including but not limited to chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. Between 75 to 85 percent of those who contract Hepatitis C will develop chronic infection. Hepatitis C is responsible for between 8,000 and 10,000 deaths per year in the United States.

As a medical malpractice lawyer, it is my opinion that this horrible situation could have and should have been avoided. Even a simple check of her myspace page would have revealed that she has a ?crazy fascination with needles? because she ?just like[s] the way they feel.? Moreover, a recovering heroin addict is certainly not some one that should be permitted to handle strong narcotics, and such drugs should be carefully monitored within the hospital.

Full post as published by Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog on July 16, 2009 (boomark / email).