The Case of the Careless (and Clueless!) Nurse

Over the years we at Weston lawyers have handled a lot of cases especially in the area of medical malpractice. Many of them have been what one might term “over the top” or simply unbelievable. At times we have been left shaking our heads at the carelessness of some members of the medical community. But this most recent story tops any situation we have ever observed.

Allegedly a nurse at Broward General Medical Center was accused of reusing catheter tubing and saline bags on patients undergoing cardiac chemical stress tests. The problem? The tubing and saline bags were only designed for a single use! According to reports, Qui Lan the nurse who was involved in this dangerous and deceptive practice potentially exposed more than 1,800 patients to blood borne diseases like HIV, and hepatitis B and C! What’s worse – authorities have interviewed the accused and she, thus far, has no explanation as to why she chose this course of action even though she knew it was both dangerous and was a blatant disregard for hospital protocol.

We don’t know if there is a good explanation! How was it that this nurse was able to repeat this horrific process with over 1,800 patients and go unnoticed? How is it that the hospital lacked the checks and balances which allowed her to continue to go on undetected since 2004?

For us this is just a continuation of an already alarming trend. Earlier this year a VA Hospital in Miami and two other cities were cited for using non-sterile equipment with the result of over 50 Veterans testing positive for blood borne diseases. This is a travesty that has to stop and the medical community MUST be held accountable and receive more than just a proverbial slap on the wrist.

With the health care debate raging in the political arena today our leaders also need to address another question: How do we insure QUALITY health care for all Americans? That’s a tougher question with no easy answers. In our opinion there needs to be stronger malpractice laws with stiffer penalties for those who are found guilty. Careless behavior can only be curbed with greater accountability.

For those who are victims of such deviant practices, it will take a lot of courage to stand up and speak out, but it is a must. We are convinced that there should be a clarion call for fundamental changes in the medical community. And what better voice then those who have been preyed upon by its inadequacies.

Weston Lawyers: The Clueless Nurse (And Hospital!) Part 2

Recently we commented in a post about the story of Qui Lan, the nurse at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale that used the same catheter tubing and saline bags on over 1800 cardiac patients. As soon as the hospital was made aware of the situation they contacted all of those who had been under her care. Several of those who were approached have been tested and subsequently have been given the bad news. While the hospital won’t reveal the who and what, we do know that each was going to be tested for HIV and Hepatitis B & C. Any way that you look at it, this is a sad situation. And according to reports, there are probably more since a good number of those potentially impacted have yet to be tested.

Unfortunately, it appears is as if the hospital is playing “Good Cop, Bad Cop” with this situation. Some of the reports make the hospital out to be the “good cop” willing to test those affected (and infected!) thus attempting to right the wrongs of the nurse gone bad. If that’s really what’s happening, it’s laughable at best. After successfully litigating numerous medical malpractice cases, we have a question for the hospital. How is it that you (Broward General Medical Center) didn’t have enough checks and balances in place to prevent this from going on since 2005? It might be more reasonable if the nurse in question was able to hide her shenanigans for maybe a year, but almost five? That is unthinkable!

The people that have been victimized by this nurse’s unthinking and inane practices have the right, and we believe that responsibility to take action against her and the hospital. HIV the virus that causes AIDS and Hepatitis B & C will impact, not only their quality of life but also its duration.

Plain and simple, the hospital needs to revamp its best practices and rework its accountability procedures. They shouldn’t just be on the defensive but also on the offensive. This is a serious breach of protocol and most would agree that they are equally responsible for this horrific situation. The hospital’s external P.R. spin should stop and they should rather direct their energy toward making the necessary policy changes that would help prevent such ineptitude from happening in the future.