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Scandal hit Kaiser Permanente’s organ transplant program when allegations of impropriety surfaced that alleged mismanagement of transplant lists led to significant health problems and possibly even deaths of patients awaiting new kidneys. In 2004, the HMO began a program that should have simplified the transplant wait process for thousands of people throughout Northern California, but instead of creating a single list of patients based on their previous position, Kaiser Permanente transferred their names to the bottom of the new list or erased them from the list entirely. This egregious oversight put deserving and critical transplant patients far out of the running for the organs they so desperately needed.
The transplant program was so rife with mismanagement that California HMO regulators had to step in and organize the process. In fact, David Merlin, former head of Kaiser’s kidney transplant unit, filed a wrongful discharge lawsuit against the HMO after he repeatedly complained about the poor oversight of the transplant program. According to Merlin, Kaiser’s transplant program was “…so poorly organized and unprofessionally managed that it failed to comply with state and federal requirements and was compromising patient care, leading to unnecessary suffering and possibly deaths."
This type of conduct and mismanagement would be inexcusable even from a smaller medical organization, let alone the largest HMO in the United States. Kaiser should have ensured that every aspect of their new transplant program worked properly before risking the lives of thousands of people who clung to the hope that their advanced position on the list could deliver them from a life of dialysis, pain, and despair. Investigators are also looking into the manner Kaiser failed to handle patient feedback, which could itself provoke a new round of lawsuits.
If you or someone you know was in the Northern California Kaiser Permanente kidney transplant program and suffered negative health consequences, you may have been an unwitting victim of the alleged mismanagement. The unreasonable delay caused by the disorganization of the program may have prevented thousands of people from getting the treatment they deserved, and you may have been passed over for your operation in spite of your previous location on the surgery list. You may be entitled to financial restitution for your situation, so consult our dedicated and compassionate attorneys and get the compensation you deserve. Contact us today.
