Several media sites, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, have reported that a couple has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against a kidney donor program, and a hospital, for failing to catch that the woman had hepatitis C before giving her partner her kidney.
Due to the bungled transplant, UPMC's living donor kidney and liver transplant programs were allegedly shut down for two months.
C.M., the kidney donor, and M.Y, the patient, filed two lawsuits in the Allegheny County Common Pleas Court on September 20. Named in the suits are UPMC, University of Pittsburgh Physician, four doctors and one nurse.
The suits alleges that every member of the transplant team failed to notice that the results of a test taken on C.M. prior to the transplant showed that she clearly had hepatitis C.
The transplant occurred on April 6. M.Y. has suffered with type 1 diabetes and diabetic nephropathy.
There are 12 counts in the lawsuit including: professional negligence, corporate negligence, intentional and negligent representation and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
The amount of damages sought is yet to be determined, and will include both compensatory and punitive.
A month after the surgery, on May 6, 2011, C.M. was asked to come to the UPMC Presbyterian Hospital to talk with a UPMC surgeon. During the interview she was asked if she had "cheated on" M.Y. or had recently used cocaine.
Then the surgeon allegedly told C.M. that her test results showed that she had hepatitis C before the transplant surgery - and, that she needn't share this news with her partner.
It is alleged in the lawsuit that this surgeon advised C.M. not to share the test results with M.Y. as part of a "cover-up" scheme. It is also stated in the suit that C.M. is neither an adulterer nor a drug user.
Per the suit, one day after speaking with C.M., UPMC decided to close down it's operations - temporarily. They notified both state and federal agencies that it was due to a botched transplant.
Dr. H.T. and a nurse, M.F., were disciplined for missing the test's results as they oversaw the living donor program. The two were also named in the suit.
Others named in the suit include three more physicians, M.S., J.S. and N.S.
Two months is allegedly the amount of time it would take federal regulators to complete their investigations and allow UPMC to resume operations.
Harry Cohen, the attorney for the couple, said, "The mistakes made by UPMC and their doctors have been physically and emotionally devastating to (M.Y. and C.M.), and will affect them the rest of their lives. It is vitally important to (M.Y. and C.M.) that no other transplant patients have to suffer the way they are suffering."
Four days after M.Y. met with the surgeon over her test results, and the couple learned that UPMC had shut down, they were accused of leaking the story to the press. The suit stated
they were "deeply offended by the insinuation against them."
One doctor, and then one nurse, called the home to see if the couple had intentionally given their story to the press. The suit states that the calls were made "in an intimidating manner under the circumstances . . . as though it were a crime, when even if they had conveyed information to the press, which they had not, would not have been doing anything wrong."
An investigation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services discovered that both doctors and nurses missed M.Y.'s test result - a minimum of six times.
Contact a medical malpractice attorney if you have suffered while under the care of a hospital or physician. Monetary compensation may be due to you for your medical bills now, and in the future.