Many people throughout the nation, including the state of Pennsylvania, are likely aware of the numerous victims of a lab technician who spread Hepatitis C to patients throughout the country in the process of stealing drugs meant for those individuals. As a result of contracting the disease, many have filed medical malpractice lawsuits against the man, the hospitals that employed him and the placement companies that found him those positions. The victims are seeking financial compensation for the injuries they have suffered. Many reading about these cases may be wondering just what constitutes those injuries.
The testimony presented by one victim in another Hepatitis C lawsuit, in which plaintiffs are seeking to hold an insurance company liable, sheds light on what those individuals may be experiencing. The woman in this case allegedly contracted the disease after a visit to a Nevada endoscopy clinic. After being diagnosed with the disease and seeking treatment for it, the woman reportedly suffered both physically as well as emotionally.
The treatment reportedly caused the woman physical discomfort and pain. In addition to nausea, headaches and achy bones, the woman also suffered skin ailments such as welts and itching. At one point, her treating physician felt the treatment was causing more harm than good, and advised her to stop before she suffered a stroke, neither of which she did.
Perhaps less expected but arguably still as devastating was the emotional toll the experience took on her. Because of the way in which the disease is usually passed, via needles used to inject drugs or through sexual activities deemed "risky," the woman did not want others to know about her diagnosis. Though she contracted it in a medical facility, she nonetheless felt a great sense of shame which led her to withdraw from friends and loved ones, including her husband.
The treatment in the case of this woman appears to have worked. She undergoes tests for the disease each year however to make sure her system is still clear. Most would probably agree that the pain and suffering she and others like her experience due to the disease deserves some type of financial compensation.
Source: KXNT, "Hep C Plaintiff: Shocked, Embarrassed, Confused," Samantha Stone, March 11, 2013