web1_doves.jpg

‘12 Days of Christmas’ items top $34K, up 0.6 percent

web1_hunter.jpg

143 bear taken on final day raises 2015 harvest to 2,693

WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The family of a Harveys Lake man who died in August 2013 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, alleging medical personnel contributed to his death through negligence.The lawsuit also alleges hospital officials conspired &#8220;to alter the hospital&#8217;s treatment records and then conceal the alleged improprieties&#8221; following the death of Joseph M. Corey.Bucks County attorney Joseph A. McGinley made the filing after an investigation that included a digital forensic examiner discovering at least six different sets of medical records produced by Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, claiming to represent Corey&#8217;s complete medical record.The investigation determined there were &#8220;many inconsistencies and contradictions which make it impossible to determine exactly what course of treatment was provided&#8221; to Corey.Corey, 44, was the son of the late Dr. Peter Corey, former Chief of Surgery at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.According to a civil complaint filed last week in Luzerne County Court, Corey, 44, sustained a shoulder injury in September 2009 and was prescribed Percocet by Dr. Charles Lentini. Following unspecified complications from the narcotic, Corey was then prescribed Suboxone.The complaint says a previous nationwide advisory from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had recommended a pneumococcal vaccine for patients with predisposing conditions that included cigarette and alcohol abuse. Corey&#8217;s medical history reportedly included those conditions, but he wasn&#8217;t given the vaccine, the complaint says.Corey began experiencing chest congestion and difficulty breathing on Aug. 8, 2013. Lentini advised him to come in the next day for a regularly scheduled appointment, but Corey called 911 at 3 a.m. on Aug. 9 and requested emergency assistance.Corey was transported to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital via ambulance. Corey&#8217;s wife, Lesley, had left the area on Aug. 8 with her three children to visit family in Maryland. She was notified at 7:30 a.m. on Aug. 9 of her husband&#8217;s condition by a hospital official and was told he was in critical condition.Lesley Corey arrived at the hospital at 11 a.m. that day and was greeted by a number of her husband&#8217;s co-workers near his room.The complaint claims medical staff illegally disclosed confidential medical and treatment information to Corey&#8217;s co-workers, and that hospital staff later obscured Corey&#8217;s electronic patient records in an attempt to cover up his treatment.The lawsuit also alleges Lesley was not consulted by medical staff, and was not notified of her husband&#8217;s diagnosis, course of treatment or prognosis.Later that day, Corey was transferred to Hershey Medical Center at 2 p.m. via helicopter. He died on Aug. 11.Missing recordsLesley Corey requested copies of her husband&#8217;s medical records after his death, but those records did not include nurses&#8217; notes.Lesley&#8217;s attorneys in August 2014 also requested a full record of Corey&#8217;s medical records, which also did not include the continuity of care record or nurses&#8217; notes.Lesley and her attorney requested to see Corey&#8217;s original treatment records in March 2015 and met with hospital staff on March 27. Hospital staff showed 21 pages of medical records, including 19 pages of nurses&#8217; notes not previously provided.The lawsuit alleges, however, the report did not include an 18-page facsimile from Wilkes-Barre General to Hershey that included Corey&#8217;s medical records. Hospital officials also reportedly told Lesley and her attorney that Corey&#8217;s treatment records were kept as electronic medical records and hard copies of the original paper records did not exist.Lesley and her attorney later filed a HIPAA authorization to Milton Hershey Medical Center for copies of treatment and medical records received from outside facilities. In response, Hershey hospital staff provided Lesley&#8217;s attorney with an 18-page record, including a 17-page facsimile sent from Wilkes-Barre General Hospital on Aug. 9. That report included 19 pages of nurses&#8217; notes.The litigation began by a writ of summons on July 1. A spokesman for the family said punitive damages will be determined in court.Commonwealth Health spokeswoman Renita Fennick declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Family of Harveys Lake man claims hospital was negligent</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Travis Kellartkellar@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Travis Kellar at 570-991-6389 or on Twitter @TLNews</shirttailMeta></div>

Family of the late Joseph Corey, of Harveys Lake, files wrongful death lawsuit against Wilkes-Barre General Hospital