As an environmental lawyer, I represent many persons in what are called toxic tort cases. A toxic tort case is a lawsuit in which it is alleged that exposure to a hazardous material has made someone become ill.

I spend a lot of time on dirty drinking water cases. Other kinds of toxic torts include asbestos exposure and air pollutant exposure.

But even I was surprised by the recent series appearing in the Chicago Tribune. The first article appeared on July 21, 2002 entitled "Infection Epidemic Carves Deadly Path." That article was written by Michael J. Berens and is must reading for anyone concerned about health care (who is not?). The article is astonishing.

Mr. Berens reports that approximately 75 thousand persons die each year as a result of another kind of toxic exposure, exposure to germs resulting from unsanitary hospital practices. People who go to the hospital because they are sick are dying not because of their illness, but because the hospital has allegedly made them sicker -- according to an award winning investigation by the paper.

The culprit: unsanitary facilities and instruments, and poor hand washing. I will quote what the paper says about a finding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: " Deaths linked to hospital germs represent the fourth leading cause of mortality among Americans, behind heart disease, cancer and strokes …. These infections kill more people each year than car accidents, fires and drowning combined."

THE FOURTH LEADING CAUSE OF MORTALITY - because these idiots can't wash their hands!! People should be going to jail over this.

The article then cites specific references to people throughout the country that have apparently died because they acquired hospital based infections. Regional outbreaks have developed because of these problems. Again, 75 thousand needless deaths.

I am convinced that you will find this information to be as shocking as I did. How much worse can our hospitals be than this? People go to hospitals to become well, not die. And its one thing to die of a bad illness or heaven forbid, an accident. But because someone did not wash their hands? That is no accident. That is murder.

I believe that criminal investigators should review some of these cases.

Hand washing is not that complicated. It is perfectly foreseeable that sloppy germ prevention practices in hospitals can make people very ill. So in my mind blatant hygiene failures may constitute criminal negligence.

What is wrong with our hospitals. We are supposed to have the most advanced health care in the world, and these fools aren't washing their hands. And lots and lots of people are dying because of their filth. If they want to be pigs at home, that's one thing. But isn't it obvious that hospitals must be clean. I would say that you don't have to be a "brain surgeon" to know this, but apparently, they don't know it.

I always tell home buyers to evaluate local environmental hazards before making a home purchase decision.

You don't want to live close to a polluting factory or a poorly managed landfill.

I think you need to take a look at hospital care choices as well. Review local newspapers and speak to doctors. Are the nearby health care facilities clean? Have any illness outbreaks been linked to poor sanitary practices?

How sad that we even have to ask such questions. I think they are good questions to ask.

Published: August 8, 2002

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