Man awarded $50,000 in needle suit
A Connellsville man who said he was stuck by a used needle when he rolled over in a bed at Highlands Hospital was awarded $50,000 by a three-judge arbitration panel in Fayette County Court.
According to the complaint filed on behalf of Brad Allen Dillinger of Connellsville, he was in the Connellsville hospital to undergo a surgical procedure in April 2009. After it was complete, he was resting in his bed, the suit states, and “a used medical needle left behind in the bed penetrated his arm.”
Dillinger sued the hospital for negligence, claiming staff failed to properly dispose of medical waste, retain the needle for testing, investigate or adequately record what happened, and failed to recommend or complete testing on the patient for blood-borne infectious diseases.
Rochelle Palfi Gaul, a nurse who was on duty on April 26, 2009 when Dillinger was a patient, testified in a deposition in the case that the needle was not used to directly inject medication into a patient. Gaul testified that it was used to mix saline or a medication into an intravenous tube.
Dillinger’s complaint stated that a nurse disposed of the needle, and never reported back to to him about where the needle came from.
The complaint also said Dillinger called the hospital two days after he was discharged, indicating his arm had been punctured and a large contusion had formed. The person he spoke with told him hospital protocol required that the needle be tested for infectious diseases, the complaint stated, but to Dillinger’s knowledge the needle was not tested nor did hospital staff follow up on the report.
Dillinger claimed he suffered pain and emotional distress, fearing he may have contracted hepatitis, HIV and/or other blood-borne diseases. His attorney, Nicholas Fiske, said Dillinger has not contracted any illnesses related to the needle-stick.
Fiske said the hospital never made an offer to settle the suit, and that arbitration was the last course his client could pursue.
Asked if the hospital plans to appeal the award, Jason J. Zivkovic, an attorney with the firm representing Highlands Hospital, said his client would be exploring possible options, but he was not able to comment specifically.