Hospital Failed to Notify Patients Who Received Radiation Overdoses

Claude Wyle — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:30:50 GMT

While we have been conditioned to trust our doctors, recent developments at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles leave us wondering whether that is as prudent as it once was. The Los Angeles Times reported on October 6, 2009, that the hospital did not tell all 206 patients who received radiation overdoses during CT scans of its error. This according to the accounts from four people who said they only came to understand what happened to them through news reports. Hospital officials claimed that "all...patients had been contacted 'in the interest of keeping them informed.'" But, four individuals said "that although they were called and questioned by Cedars-Sinai radiologists last month, the doctors neither acknowledged any error nor explained that the patients had been exposed to eight times more radiation than necessary." The hospital "has said the overdoses stemmed from an error made when the hospital reconfigured a scanner to improve doctors' ability to see blood flow to the brain."

What we take away from this is to listen carefully to the doctor’s explanation if anything in your procedure is out of the ordinary and to ask questions if there is anything about the procedure you not understand. Do not be intimidated by technical explanations or jargon. If you feel you did not receive an adequate answer to your questions, or your doctor committed medical malpractice consult a malpractice attorney for a consultation. You should not be charged for this consultation and it is a small investment of time for substantial peace of mind.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Claude Wyle

Doctor Arrested For Writing Illegal Prescriptions, 1 Death

Jenny Albano — Fri, 09 May 2008 02:59:55 GMT

A doctor was arrested Tuesday, May 6, for writing numerous illegal painkiller prescriptions, which led to the death of a 28 year-old.

Dr. Wesley Albert, 78, is being held for investigation of second-degree murder in the overdose of Jason Morgan of Riverside, who had 30 bottles of narcotics prescribed by Albert when he died, officials said. Morgan died, they said, after Albert gave him a large prescription for Soma, a muscle relaxant prescribed for acute pain.

Albert was arrested after a 10 month investigation by the San Diego pharmaceutical task force which is run by the state Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement. After one of Albert's patients was arrested for possessing illegal prescription drugs, agents found that Albert was selling hundreds of illegal painkiller prescriptions. He would prescribe several times the normal amount of each drug and would receive $50 to $100 for each prescription.

People from Riverside, Orange and San Diego counties learned that Albert was prescribing prescription drugs for cash, and many people flocked to the hotel where he had been residing for months. Albert did not examine his patients and did not ask the questions a normal doctor would ask before prescribing medications. According to staff at his previous job, Albert retired, and his license expired last month.

The cause of Morgan's death was heart failure and Soma intoxication; he had five times the recommended amount of the drug in his system.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

San Francisco Personal Injury Lawyer - Medical Malpractice

Hospital Failed to Notify Patients Who Received Radiation Overdoses

Doctor Arrested For Writing Illegal Prescriptions, 1 Death