December 22, 2009

Lawsuit Filed Against NYC Hospital for HIV Misdiagnosis

A medical-malpractice lawsuit has been filed against Harlem Hospital in New York City for misdiagnosing a patient with HIV, the New York Post reports.  

According to the article, the patient, Maria Osorio, 54, went to the hospital for its discounted mammogram screening. After Osorio accepted a free cheek swab and blood test for sexually transmitted infections, a nurse diagnosed her with HIV.  

Osorio blamed her husband of 37 years, Gabriel Lezcano, for her testing HIV positive. Lezcano denied being HIV positive, even after the hospital called a few days after Osorio’s diagnosis to tell her that the disease was advanced.  

About three weeks after her diagnosis, the hospital called Osorio to tell her she was not HIV positive. She claims that no one has admitted a mistake or apologized.  

Osorio told the Post that she suffered immense emotional damage as a result of the diagnosis, even considering suicide.

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Previous Comments:

Thomas McLendon, Orleans, 2010-01-02 23:56:41
While this story seems sad, there are a couple of problems. First, it's standard practice for a medical facility to confirm a diagnoses of HIV/AIDS before informing the patient by either a second test, or sending the first test to an different independent tester. Secondly, the phone call to advise of an advanced cae it propsterous. No health care provider that I know of will discuss this information over the phone, but isntead ask you to come in to have a private medical discussion.

Mark Edwards, Los Angeles, 2009-12-29 16:29:04
I had the cheek swab when I tested HIV positive but the clinic also drew blood. I was told that if I tested positive the blood would be used to confirm. I thought this was standard procedure.

Ksurrina, , 2009-12-29 15:02:30
This is sad indeed. I can just imagine what this lady goes through and what her husband displayed to defend himself from this assault. Healthcare workers need to be more prudent when discussing HIV with suspecting clients. This misdiagnosis is getting out of hand. Glad she didn't take her life.

TOMKO, Providence, 2009-12-24 10:15:02
OMG- I can't believe they didn't at least offer retesting before diagnosing her. She should have been told to wait for the 2nd test & should not have been called & told she had advanced disease until the 2nd test results came back. This is especially true since she was having a routine mammagram & was not presenting for HIV indications. There must have been a sample mix-up although false-positives do occur.