Duke Medical System Hydraulic Fluid
Who is at risk for a hydraulic fluid injury?
Patients treated at Duke Health Raleigh Hospital between Nov. 4 and Dec. 30 and
Durham Regional patients seen between Nov. 24 and Dec. 22, 2004, are at risk.
The two hospitals belonging to the esteemed Duke University Health System recently
notified over 4,000 patients that they may have been operated on with contaminated
surgical instruments.
How could hydraulic fluid have been used instead of detergent?
The Duke Health System determined that a local Durham company, Automatic Elevator, emptied hydraulic fluid into several empty detergent canisters while performing maintenance in September 2004. The detergent company later picked up the barrels of used hydraulic fluid thinking they were full of cleaning agents, which they then distributed to the hospitals.
A report filed by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said the hospitals’ errors put the patients in “immediate jeopardy.”
MORE:
What is Hydraulic Fluid?
Who Is At Risk For Hydraulic Fluid Injury?
Sources:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (www.atsdr.cdc.gov)
Toxological Profile for Hydraulic Fluid, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Public Health Service Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, September 1997
Surgical Tools Washed With Hydraulic Fluid, the Guardian,by Estes Thompson (Associated Press Writer) published on June 14, 2005 (www.guardian.co.uk)
Free Consultation
If you or someone you know was treated at either the Duke Health Raleigh Hospital or the Durham Regional Hospital between November 4 and December 30 of 2004, contact a North Carolina injury lawyer at HensonFuerst immediately for a free and confidential case evaluation.
This law firm is not affiliated with, sponsored by or associated with the Duke University Health System, the Duke Health Raleigh Hospital, the Durham Regional hospital, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the Guardian.
