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A Dangerous Error: The Duke Medical System Hydraulic Fluid Case

Were you or was someone you know operated on at Duke Health Raleigh Hospital or Durham Regional Hospital during November or December of 2004?

If so, you may have been exposed to a potentially harmful agent that could be the cause of serious health problems including cancer and blood infection.

Here are the facts:

• In September 2004, employees of Automatic Elevator Company filled empty surgical detergent containers with used hydraulic fluid emptied out of an elevator at Duke Health Raleigh Hospital. The containers are re-capped, but are never properly disposed of. Mistaken for detergent, the used and dirty hydraulic fluid is placed with other containers of surgical detergent.
• Cardinal Health, the company who supplies the detergent to the hospitals, redistributes the dirty fluid and it is improperly and carelessly used to disinfect surgical tools just prior to surgery at both Duke Health Raleigh Hospital and Durham Regional Hospital.
• Hospital employees complain that surgical tools are greasy after being disinfected in the usual surgical detergent; however, no inquiry is made by hospital officials.
• Some patients who were operated on at these hospitals during November and December 2004 when the dirty hydraulic fluid was in circulation complain of unusual pain and discomfort after their procedures.
• After months of denial, Duke Hospital officials finally release a statement acknowledging the mistake, but deny and continue to deny that any health complications could result.
• Suits against Automatic Elevator Company, Cardinal Health, and Duke and Durham Hospitals are filed after letters are sent to 4000 patients who were possibly exposed to the fluid.

If you or someone you know was operated on at Duke or Durham Hospital during November or December 2004 and you even suspect that you have had complications or health problems, contact us at Brent Adams & Associates immediately! Some common complaints by patients exposed to the fluid include infection, joint pain, redness at site of incision, loss of kidney function, and fever. Studies attempting to recreate the contamination suggest that long term health problems could arise as well, including the possibility of developing cancer from the heavy metals that could have made their way from the hydraulic fluid into patients’ blood streams.

Hospital officals have denied that there were any harmful effects to patients, but the hospitals have commissioned mostly internal studies whose conclusions minimize the danger to patients.These internal studies rely on tricky statistics to demonstrate that only fractions of drops of fluid could have been on the tools during surgery, but the fact remains that both patients and hospital employees could tell the difference without a microscope.

North Carolina’s own Brent Adams & Associates have followed the Duke Medical System hydraulic fluid case very closely. In fact, we at Brent Adams & Associates were the first to file a hydraulic fluid claim adding Duke Hospital as a defendant in addition to Automatic Elevator and Cardinal Health. Brent is fighting on behalf of Bennie Holland, who underwent back surgery at Duke Health Raleigh Hospital on November 10, 2004, and developed a severe infection and further health complications as a result of exposure to the dirty surgical tools. Mr. Holland has not been able to work since complications from his surgery developed. This is exactly the kind of case Brent and his Associates shine on, defending the maligned individual against the cold, uncaring corporation. If you or someone you know needs representation or advice in this matter, please contact Brent’s offices as soon as possible. Let us determine if you have a case, we have the expertise and resources to fight the hospitals, their armies of insurance lawyers, and their experts-for-hire.

Brent Adams & Associates has been following Duke hydraulic fluid news since the truth first emerged. As the first attorney to file a Duke Hydraulic Fluid claim, Brent Adams & Associates have the experience needed to gain the full recovery to which you are entitled. Your claim will help to prevent terrible mistakes like this from happening at hospitals in the future.

A lawyer from Brent Adams & Associates would be happy to meet with you and discuss your case at no charge. Please fill out our free case evaluation form and someone from our office will be in touch with you immediately.

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