Long Island doctor may dodge lawsuits for recycling syringesSunday, November 18th 2007, 4:00 AM
The Long Island pain doc who reused syringes and put hundreds of patients at risk for HIV and hepatitis likely cannot be sued because the state waited nearly three years to alert the affected patients.
Dr. Harvey Finkelstein's misuse of syringes 34 months ago resulted in two known hepatitis C cases. But instead of telling 628 patients that they were at risk, the Plainview, L.I., anesthesiologist hired lawyers to negotiate with the state health department.
The state last week mailed letters to the at-risk patients, urging them to get tested for HIV and hepatitis B and C.
If additional patients do turn out to be infected, the state's statute of limitations - 30 months - would prevent them from suing the pain doctor, said Jeff Korek, president of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association.
"It is a disaster," said Korek, noting that the patients will be penalized because "they didn't know quickly enough what happened."
This type of situation is common in breast cancer patients who find out a doctor misread a test years too late to take legal action, Korek said. The solution, he said, would be to change the state law so the statute of limitations starts on the day the patient discovers the mistake - not when the mistake occurred.
Laura MacCleery of Public Citizen, a Washington-based watchdog, called the current state law "a perverse incentive to keep this kind of information from the patient."
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/11/18/2007-11-18_long_island_doctor_may_dodge_lawsuits_fo-1.html
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