A Miami VA has announced publicly that thousands of patients are at possible risk of disease after having undergone colonoscopies that were performed with improperly sterilized equipment. The situation affects some 3,260 patients and could result in a case of mass medical malpractice.
Those at risk include anyone who had a colonoscopy at the VA between May 2004 and March 12, 2009. Patients who fall into this group are being urged to get tested for diseases such as HIV and hepatitis.
Sadly, this is not the first such announcement of a VA hospital using contaminated medical equipment in recent months.
In February, a VA clinic in Tennessee notified 6,378 of its patients that they may have been exposed to infectious body fluids while they received colonoscopies.
Additionally, some 1,800 patients of a Georgia ear, nose and throat clinic were recently advised that they may have been exposed to an infection after they were treated with instruments that were not properly disinfected.
Not surprisingly, officials in all three cases are attempting to minimize the severity of the situation.
U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek is not so forgiving. In a letter to the VA’s inspector general, Meek stated, “The very notion that veterans have to contemplate this new reality now before them and visit special care clinics to undergo blood testing is stomach-turning.”
Our veterans deserve to be treated with honor and respect and should receive as high a standard of medical care as anyone else in this country. If you are a veteran who received substandard treatment at a VA or other medical facility and have suffered injury or harm as a result, contact an experienced medical attorney right away to discuss your rights. You may be able to receive medical compensation for your damages.
Source: FoxNews.com
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