By Dan Mitchell, MLM Blog Correspondent
Here's an ironic twist for Pre-Paid Legal…
From The Philadelphia Gay News:
Jonathan J. James, a local civil-rights attorney who’s handled many LGBT-related cases, has been sued for legal malpractice in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court.
Dr. Don Walter Kannangara, an infectious-disease specialist, contended James failed to give him adequate legal representation, resulting in the permanent suspension of Kannangara’s staff privileges at two local hospitals.
In a brief interview, Kannangara said his staff privileges at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Girard Medical Center in North Philadelphia were temporarily suspended in February 2007, after he complained about substandard and unsafe conditions at the hospitals.
Kannangara said some personnel at the hospitals failed to practice basic hygiene such as washing their hands with sanitizing lotion prior to treating patients.
He said incorrect lab results for patients resulted in serious medical errors. Additionally, he said, some patients with HIV were neglected and not given their medications. Conversely, unnecessary medical treatments were ordered for other patients, Kannangara told PGN.
The doctor said he notified various oversight agencies about his concerns, including the state Attorney General’s Office, the state Health Department and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, which certifies more than 15,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the U.S.
To his knowledge, no corrective action was taken at the hospitals, he said. “Instead, I was punished for making the complaints,” Kannangara said.
Read the whole story…
