Medical Malpractice
Tulsa Dentist May Have Exposed Thousands of Patients to HIV and Hepatitis
A Tulsa oral surgeon is suspected of exposing thousands of his patients to Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and even HIV because of his poor sterilization practices. According to an ABC News report, the doctor is under investigation by the state dental board, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, and the state bureau of narcotics because one of his patients tested positive for Hepatitis C and HIV. Officials say the victim had no other known risk factors besides receiving dental treatment from Harrington.
The Oklahoma Board of Dentistry conducted a surprise inspection of the doctor’s Tulsa practice on March 18. During their visit, they allegedly uncovered a number of problems, including:
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The Basics of Medical Malpractice for Oklahomans
Oklahoma doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare professionals and facilities have a duty to provide the utmost standard in care for their patients. This is unfortunately not always the case. Approximately 225,000 people die nationwide as the result of medical malpractice. But what is medical malpractice?
Medical malpractice is generally defined as professional negligence or wrongdoing by act or omission by a healthcare provider that causes injury or death to the patient. The various types of Oklahoma medical malpractice include, but are not limited to: misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, delayed diagnosis, surgical error, anesthetic error, medication error, incorrect treatment, continuing ineffective treatment, failure to attend to a patient, substandard treatment, and lack of informed consent. If a doctor is employed by a hospital, the hospital will likely be held liable for that doctor’s malpractice.
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Dentist Gives Up License due to Accusations of Oklahoma Medical Malpractice
A dentist from Tulsa, Oklahoma has voluntarily given up his license after multiple accusations of negligence, medical malpractice, and unnecessary dental procedures, according to NewsOn6.com. The dentist gave up his license only a few short days before the dental board was likely to revoke it. The article states that the dentist ran infomercials advertising a procedure that he had created, but patients who received the procedure complained of teeth that didn’t fit, breaking resin, intense pain, and dental work that needed to be redone. Some patients reported having trouble even eating such foods as apples and corn on the cob.
Because the dentist in question did not have Oklahoma medical malpractice insurance, many of his patients may be out of luck when it comes to recovering the procedure expenses. Only one patient was able to with a judgment against him. Depending on the extent of dental work was for each patient, the cost of the procedures varied between $15,000 – 50,000.
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Oklahoma Woman Severely Burned by Medical Negligence Speaks Out Against New Tort Reform
A new bill is being considered in Oklahoma that would place a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages for personal injury cases. However, one Oklahoma woman is speaking out against the reform since she sustained severe burn injuries from the waist up due to medical negligence, in 2009 according to OKWatchdog.com. The retired eighth grade teacher, who had endured cancer and chemotherapy, underwent reconstructive surgery, during which a cauterizing tool ignited alcohol that had been used to disinfect the woman.
According to the woman, the cap would only further hurt those who had already suffered so much due to medical negligence in Oklahoma. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) reports that approximately 100 medical fires occur each year, and result in at least 20 injuries and about two deaths. Because these types of injuries can be so severe and often require lifetime care, a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages would cover only a small fraction of the suffering that some of these patients have been forced to suffer.
Medical Malpractice in Oklahoma
Medical malpractice in Oklahoma occurs when medical professionals act in negligence and provide care that deviates from accepted medical standards and practices which cause injury or death to patients. Doctors, nurses and other medical professionals are expected to provide the best healthcare possible, ensuring that the patient’s condition is treated, not made worse.
According to a study conducted by HealthGrades, from 2000 to 2002, an average of 195,000 individuals each year died due to in-hospital medical related errors. Over that time period, of the 37 million hospital admissions in the Medicare population, 1.14 million people were injured due to medical error. The causes of death of over 323,000 of those injured patients were attributed to the injuries they sustained while in the hospital. Additionally, the top causes of medical error related deaths were failure to rescue, bedsores, and postoperative sepsis.
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