Lawyers: No recourse for Detroit Medical Center dirty instrument patients

Ervice Gregory walked into Harper University Hospital five years ago for outpatient surgery for scar removal. She hasn’t been the same since she walked out.

Within days, she developed infections near her sutures that wouldn’t heal. The Oak Park woman has been ill since, undergoing nine operations to fix the infections and scars that tests pinpointed to a rare, heat-resistant bacteria. She said she can’t work, must stay out of the sun and is in constant pain.

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They have no direct evidence, but the timing, nature and location of her injuries lead Gregory and her attorney, Michael H. Fortner, to believe she came into contact with dirty surgical instruments. The cost and difficulty of bringing medical malpractice cases in Michigan, though, may make it difficult to prove, leaving little recourse for those who feel they were victimized by problems with sterilization.

Among other hurdles, Gregory said administrators at Harper and Detroit Medical Center have denied 10 requests to access her own medical records. In Michigan, state law allows hospitals to keep confidential internal reports about patients’ care.

Read more: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/special-reports/2016/09/12/lawyers-recourse-dmc-dirty-instrument-patients/90246896/