Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Lawyers

We’ve been following the troubling story of a nurse at Broward General who is accused of reusing certain types of medical equipment that’s supposed to be used once and then discarded.  Earlier reports indicate that more than 1,800 patients were exposed to infectious diseases as a result, and now comes word that some of these patients have tested positive for diseases that could have been transferred during this process.

According to the Sun-Sentinel:

“An undisclosed number of patients at Broward General Medical Center who were treated by a nurse who re-used intravenous supplies have tested positive for infectious diseases, the hospital said Tuesday.

Officials said it’s unknown if those patients were infected because of registered nurse Qui Lan’s unsafe practices, or were infected previously or by some other means.

Broward General is offering to test all those patients for the diseases and, so far, results are back on 254. Hospital spokeswoman Cathy Meyer declined to disclose the number of positive results, saying that in a community with tens of thousands of HIV and hepatitis patients, it’s inevitable some will test positive, even if the hospital is not the source.

“There are going to be positive results. As of now, it’s too preliminary to give results,” Meyer said. “It’s too soon to tell what caused the infections.”

The Fort Lauderdale hospital is phoning those who tested positive and bringing them in for more tests in hopes of determining how they were infected, as well as counseling them on their diseases, Meyer said.

As of Monday, only 533 of the 1,851 were confirmed to have received letters from the hospital urging them to be tested.”

While it’s impossible to pinpoint how someone contracted a disease, this could lead to significant legal trouble for both the nurse and the hospital.  If you or someone you love has been harmed by professional negligence, you need the help of Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers who know how to sort through complicated fact scenarios and to hold those responsible for injuries accountable.  Contact Bernstein & Maryanoff today to schedule a free initial consultation.