The nine most terrifying words in the English language, it has been said, are “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Those words rang true again while we read recently that a number of people in the nation’s capital were given bad medical information about the Zika virus last year.
The medical errors resulted in misdiagnoses that included three people in Washington DC who were wrongly informed that they did not have the virus when, in fact, they did have it. Twenty-six others who might have been infected were wrongly given clean bills of health.
It gets worse: one of the three who were wrongly told they did not have the Zika virus was pregnant at that time. She has since then given birth. The good news is that her baby did not have microcephaly (a birth defect caused by the Zika virus).
Several other women who might have had the virus were also pregnant at the time. Because they were given clean bills of health, it is very possible that they did not get appropriate medical care, including detailed screenings of the babies pre- and post-birth.
Many families in DC will have to wait to find out if their child develops Zika symptoms that can include cognitive, sensory and motor-skill difficulties, hearing loss, difficulty swallowing and more. Those symptoms can take a year or more to develop.
Problems at the city’s public health lab are to blame, officials say. No one knows yet what the extent of the city’s legal exposure will turn out to be.
Victims of medical malpractice at government-funded health care facilities such as VA hospitals and health clinics are eligible to file claims that result in full compensation for all damages. You can contact an attorney experienced in protecting your rights by contacting the Law Office of Jeffrey C. Anderson in San Antonio, Texas.
We represent clients across the United States.
