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Rocky Allen is a surgical technician accused of swapping needles. Allen is also HIV positive. During his time working at Swedish Medical Center in Colorado, Allen allegedly endangered almost 3,000 patients, all of whom have been advised to get tested for HIV and Hepatitis. No cases of infection have been found yet, but 1000 patients have not yet been tested
This is the third needle swapping incident to occur in Colorado in the past decade. As a result, the state’s lawmakers are pushing for stricter regulations regarding health workers. A new bill would require workers to undergo a finger-print based background test, a criminal background check and a drug test before they are hired. According to expert, this isn’t a problem only in Colorado. Safety surrounding health care workers is a cause for national concern.
Rocky Allen had been fired from five previous hospitals. He shouldn’t have been able to endanger 3000 people at Swedish Medical Center. Unfortunately, the current law in Colorado only requires self-disclosure, so the Center didn’t know the risk.
Experts say that in order to combat the kind of activity in which Allen engaged, a national registry of all medical records should be created. Allen was swapping needles because he wanted to steal Fentanyl, a powerful opiate. A national registry would let potential employers know about such thefts and would prevent individuals who had engaged in thefts and needles swapping from being hired in the future
If a medical facility is negligent in its hiring practices and a patient is injured, that can give rise to a lawsuit for damages suffered. If you or a loved one has been injured due to the negligence of your health care provider, you may have a case of medical malpractice. Contact the Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, for a free consultation with an experienced attorney, today.
LOWENTHAL AND ABRAMS, P.C.
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