LUVMyBirman
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Thought you all would find this most interesting. Very distrubing to say the least!
Lawyers Consulted in Lab Error Cases
By BILL BERGSTROM
.c The Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Nearly six weeks after the death of a retired South Philadelphia barber, a letter arrived at his home warning of a possible hospital laboratory error affecting the dosage of his blood-thinning medication.
Louis Vitello's widow, Carmella, said hospital officials from St. Agnes Medical Center, who visited her the same day, told her that her husband probably died as a result of the error.
``I'm shattered,'' Carmella Vitello said Sunday. ``You hear that they made that mistake with your husband, and it wasn't a natural death. I was so shocked, really.''
The city medical examiner's office is investigating five deaths that hospital officials said may have been linked to the laboratory mistake. Philadelphia Department of Public Health spokesman Jeff Moran said it may be weeks before results are released.
The state Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also are investigating.
Vitello has hired a lawyer, Marvin Lundy, who said he was talking with others who may have been affected by the test error about possible legal action.
Catherine Hines, 75, of South Philadelphia, who was taking the blood-thinning medication following a mitral valve replacement, has already filed a lawsuit. She alleges that she suffered massive internal bleeding as a result of the error, her attorney, Aaron Freiwald, said Friday.
Hospital officials, however, defended their response to the crisis.
After the error was discovered on July 25, ``we spent most if not all of the first 24 hours notifying patients and doctors,'' Richard F. Afable, chief medical officer of Catholic Health East, told The Philadelphia Inquirer for a story Sunday.
Afable didn't respond to messages left at his home seeking comment Sunday.
He said the mistake resulted from a ``system failure'' in the hospital's lab, and was ``not a case where disciplinary action was necessary.''
Officials at the hospital have said 932 patients may have received incorrect doses of the anticoagulant medication Coumadin between June 4 and July 25, because of a laboratory miscalculation that gave incorrect blood-thickness data.
Vitello said her husband had taken Coumadin for the last seven years after undergoing heart valve and bypass surgery. She said they were accustomed to monitoring the dosage carefully with biweekly and sometimes weekly tests.
The blood-thinning drug is given to patients such as those recovering from heart attacks or heart surgery to prevent blood clots that could cause a stroke or another heart attack. The dose must be closely monitored to avoid too great a decrease in clotting ability, which could lead to bruising or internal bleeding.
Vitello said her 89-year-old husband was hospitalized May 29 with what was diagnosed as pneumonia. She said he developed bedsores and bruises in the hospital, and on June 18 she found him in a fetal position. A CAT scan indicated bleeding in his brain and he was transferred to the Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital. He died the next day and was buried on June 23.
``He was already dead and buried at the time I got the letter,'' Vitello said.
On the Net:
Pennsylvania Health Department: http://www.health.state.pa.us
AP-NY-08-06-01 0522ED
Lawyers Consulted in Lab Error Cases
By BILL BERGSTROM
.c The Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Nearly six weeks after the death of a retired South Philadelphia barber, a letter arrived at his home warning of a possible hospital laboratory error affecting the dosage of his blood-thinning medication.
Louis Vitello's widow, Carmella, said hospital officials from St. Agnes Medical Center, who visited her the same day, told her that her husband probably died as a result of the error.
``I'm shattered,'' Carmella Vitello said Sunday. ``You hear that they made that mistake with your husband, and it wasn't a natural death. I was so shocked, really.''
The city medical examiner's office is investigating five deaths that hospital officials said may have been linked to the laboratory mistake. Philadelphia Department of Public Health spokesman Jeff Moran said it may be weeks before results are released.
The state Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also are investigating.
Vitello has hired a lawyer, Marvin Lundy, who said he was talking with others who may have been affected by the test error about possible legal action.
Catherine Hines, 75, of South Philadelphia, who was taking the blood-thinning medication following a mitral valve replacement, has already filed a lawsuit. She alleges that she suffered massive internal bleeding as a result of the error, her attorney, Aaron Freiwald, said Friday.
Hospital officials, however, defended their response to the crisis.
After the error was discovered on July 25, ``we spent most if not all of the first 24 hours notifying patients and doctors,'' Richard F. Afable, chief medical officer of Catholic Health East, told The Philadelphia Inquirer for a story Sunday.
Afable didn't respond to messages left at his home seeking comment Sunday.
He said the mistake resulted from a ``system failure'' in the hospital's lab, and was ``not a case where disciplinary action was necessary.''
Officials at the hospital have said 932 patients may have received incorrect doses of the anticoagulant medication Coumadin between June 4 and July 25, because of a laboratory miscalculation that gave incorrect blood-thickness data.
Vitello said her husband had taken Coumadin for the last seven years after undergoing heart valve and bypass surgery. She said they were accustomed to monitoring the dosage carefully with biweekly and sometimes weekly tests.
The blood-thinning drug is given to patients such as those recovering from heart attacks or heart surgery to prevent blood clots that could cause a stroke or another heart attack. The dose must be closely monitored to avoid too great a decrease in clotting ability, which could lead to bruising or internal bleeding.
Vitello said her 89-year-old husband was hospitalized May 29 with what was diagnosed as pneumonia. She said he developed bedsores and bruises in the hospital, and on June 18 she found him in a fetal position. A CAT scan indicated bleeding in his brain and he was transferred to the Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital. He died the next day and was buried on June 23.
``He was already dead and buried at the time I got the letter,'' Vitello said.
On the Net:
Pennsylvania Health Department: http://www.health.state.pa.us
AP-NY-08-06-01 0522ED
