There’s an update to the case of the Colorado oral surgeon accused of reusing needles and syringes among his patients, and it’s not good: Three people have tested positive for hepatitis B, C, or HIV.
The Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment issued a statement this week about the infections after reaching out to thousands of patients who saw the dentist from 1999 through 2011 and telling them they’re potentially at risk for the diseases. The department said instruments were apparently re-used for multiple patients repeatedly, and often days at a time.
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Due to patient confidentiality, the department didn’t say with which diseases the patients were infected. And good luck to those who want to pin their diagnosis on the dentist. Both the Centers for Disease Control and the health department said it would be “difficult, if not impossible to conclude definitively whether the dental practice was the actual source of transmission for any of these positive test results.”
CBS News quoted attorney Chad Hemmat as saying, “Everyone can sue.” When asked what the victims’ chances are of collecting damages he replied, “From the circumstances, as I understand them, somewhere between slim and none.”
Stein had his medical license suspended in 2011 for an unrelated and undisclosed reason. He’s not currently practicing dentistry.
Do you think the infected patients have a prayer in winning a case against the dentist? Let us know in the comments.
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Jeannine Stein, a California native, wrote about health for the Los Angeles Times. In her pursuit of a healthy lifestyle she has taken countless fitness classes, hiked in Nepal, and has gotten in a boxing ring. Email Jeannine | TakePart.com
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