Matt Sharp Says That Vegas Death Shows Dangers of Unsafe Injection Practices
Reno, NV, March 13, 2016 (Newswire.com) - Universal safety precautions are designed to protect patients and healthcare workers from contracting viruses and bacterial infections from unsafe injection practices while they are being treated within a healthcare setting. These precautions include requirements for disposing of medical devices that have been used and carry the potential for spreading deadly pathogens to subsequent patients.
Unsafe injection practices can easily transmit blood-borne diseases like Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, HIV, MRSA, and other blood-borne diseases. The CDC estimates that between 2001 and 2013, nearly 150,000 patients in America were treated with reused needles or syringes. This is a disconcerting statistic given the fact that the CDC's recommended guidelines for healthcare professionals strictly forbid reusing these devices. Even so, the CDC's statistics showed that during this same period there were 49 outbreaks directly attributable to unsafe injection practices.
Nevada medical malpractice attorney Matthew L. Sharp : http://mattsharplaw.com/practice-areas/personal-injury/medical-malpractice/
Matthew L. Sharp
"This summer, Dr. Dipak Desai was sentenced to 71 months in prison following his conviction for defrauding the federal health care system. This is on top of a life sentence for murder given to him by Nevada for his role in exposing up to 60,000 people to Hepatitis C, HIV, and other blood-borne pathogens via unsafe injection practices," remarked Nevada medical malpractice attorney Matthew L. Sharp.
The actions of Dr. Desai's clinice led to the death of Rodolfo Meana in April 2012, and Michael Washington in August 2013. Both were among the more than the hundreds of people whom contracted Hepatitis C while being treated in Dr. Desai's Las Vegas endoscopy center. The surviving patients are facing years of decreased quality of life and potentially shortened lives because of the irreversible damage Hepatitis C can cause.
"Dr. Desai chose to foster greed over safety. His clinic was notorious for unsafe practices ranging from colonoscopies that were completed within 5 minutes to unsafe cleaning of endoscopy equipment to unsafe injection practices. The sheer number of patients coupled with unsafe injection practices created a situation that was conducive to spreading blood borne pathogens between the patient population," observed Nevada medical malpractice attorney Matthew L. Sharp.