Wire: VA Sued for Medical Negligence

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2009 -- Newswire services yesterday reported that at least 50 people are suing the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs with allegations of negligent use of medical equipment, authorities said.

Juan Rivera, 55, was diagnosed with HIV after having a routine colonoscopy performed at the veterans hospital in Miami in May 2008, Ira Leesfield, his lawyer, said.

Rivera, an Army veteran, learned after the colonoscopy that the hospital had not properly sterilized the equipment used for the procedure, Leesfield said.

Rivera and others are suing the VA under the Federal Torts Claim Act, The Washington Post reported Monday. The VA, on its Web site, said no link has been established between the patients' conditions and the endoscopy procedures.

In April, a VA inspection of 42 of its medical facilities found just 43 percent were in compliance with equipment sterilization standards, the Post reported.

See link below for details.

(Report from newswire sources.)

Source: Negligence Suits Likely Over VA Procedures

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