Woman says doctor infected her with Hepatitis C

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Woman says doctor infected her with Hepatitis C

May 4, 2005 By EMILY BRADYARGUS-COURIER STAFF

A local woman seeking treatment for one debilitating disease was accidentally infected with another by her own physician, according to a case filed recently in Sonoma County Superior Court.

In the April 21 complaint, consumer rights law firm Hersh & Hersh alleged that a medical error at Gordon Medical Associates in Santa infected up to five of its patients with Hepatitis C on Jan. 4, 2005, including their client, Graham of Petaluma.

Graham, who was already diagnosed with Lyme Disease and being treated by Dr. Gordon, was allegedly infected while receiving an IV treatment of contaminated dextrose solution, the lawsuit stated.

She was diagnosed in mid-February with Hepatitis C, a liver disease that is spread through infected blood.

During a conversation in early April with Gordon, her treating physician, the Petaluma woman learned her doctor believed she was infected while receiving the dextrose solution he gave her early January. He told her that he later learned the solution had been contaminated with Hepatitis C and had been used multiple times that day on up to five different people.

Just how the solution became infected is still unclear, the lawsuit states, but it is believed that a needle used on someone with Hepatitis C somehow came into contact with the bag.

The medical office has not released the names of the four other patients it believes to be infected with the disease.

According to Graham's attorney, the Petaluma woman decided to go public about her situation "in order to get the word out to the community in the event there are other patients who may have been infected with Hepatitis C at the careless hands of Gordon Medical Associates"

The plaintiff in the suit, Gordon said in a written statement, "As a physician I work hard to take care of my patients. We are addressing the issue ... On the advice of counsel, I really cannot comment."

(Contact Brady at ebrady@...)

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