Nurse may Have Infected Over 300 in Virginia With Hepatitis

Jenny Albano — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:53:19 GMT

Over 300 patients from a Virginia hospital have been asked to get blood tests because an ex-nurse of the hospital is suspected of infecting patients with hepatitis when he worked in Texas.

Retired Army Capt. Jon Dale Jones, 45, was arrested this month in Miami on federal charges of assaulting three patients and possession of a controlled substance by fraud. Federal prosecutors said they believe Jones spread hepatitis in 2004 at an El Paso military hospital by diverting fentanyl -- a powerful painkiller often used for anesthesia -- from patients to himself.

So far there have been 15 military members or relatives who are believed to be infected with hepatitis. Jones worked at the Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport from July through December of 2007 and hospital officials claim that 310 patients came into contact with him when he was an employee. All these patients have been asked to come in to be tested for hepatitis C.

Officials do not know how the patients in Texas became infected and Jones is denying using dirty needles on his patients. Jones has plead not guilty and has been released on bond.

Th learn more about hepatitis and its symptoms click here.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

State Birth Injury Program In Jeopardy

Mike Simon — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 15:27:21 GMT

According to a study released last quarter, the Virginia state birth injury program, designed to bar medical malpractice lawsuits against doctors and hospitals when a child receives permanent birth injuries from oxygen damage or spinal damage, faces a cash shortage of $132 million and, at its present state, can survive only 17 more years.

"There are no real surprises," the program's executive director, George Deebo, told board members Thursday as he handed out copies of the projections produced for the State Corporation Commission by Mercer Consulting Inc. in New York.
The report stresses that the Virginia Birth-related Neurological Injury Compensation Program has sufficient assets to last many more years, but it concludes that it will fail without increased funding or significant reductions in benefits.

The program has a little over $147 million in assets but needs approximately $280 million to cover the care of the 100 children already in the program and those expected to qualify.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Simon

West Virginia Personal Injury Lawyer - Medical Malpractice

Nurse may Have Infected Over 300 in Virginia With Hepatitis

State Birth Injury Program In Jeopardy