More Lawsuits Filed Against Tulsa Dentist Scott Harrington

One of Harrington's patients claims he is a regular Red Cross blood donor, and says he has a paper trail that proves he got hepatitis C from Harrington's office.

Tuesday, June 18th 2013, 6:00 pm

By: News On 6


More lawsuits have been filed against dentist Scott Harrington. Harrington is accused of unsafe and unsanitary practices and possibly exposing thousands of people to diseases.

One of Harrington's patients claims he is a regular Red Cross blood donor, and says he has a paper trail that proves he got hepatitis C from Harrington's office.

In the three months since allegations were leveled against Dr. Scott Harrington, nine former patients have filed lawsuits against the dentist.

"It's exceedingly frustrating," said attorney Mark Lyons.

Lyons represents one of the most recent plaintiffs. He said his client has donated blood to the Red Cross for more than a decade.

According to the lawsuit, the patient donated in May 2012. His blood tested negative for hepatitis C and HIV.

In July, he had a tooth extracted at Harrington's office.

Then, one month later, he gave blood to the Red Cross and that blood tested positive for hepatitis C.

4/9/2013 Related Story: Former Patient Suing Tulsa Dentist Under Investigation

"It pinpoints it exactly, in our mind, as to when it happened and where it happened," Lyons said.

More than 4,000 patients have been tested at the Tulsa Health Department since March. Of those, 73 tested positive for hepatitis C, five for hepatitis B and three for HIV.

A spokesperson for the state Health Department said it is currently trying to determine if the people who tested positive had any risk factors prior to seeing Harrington.

Lyons is sure his client contracted the infection from the dentist.

"At this point, we don't know the exact method of transmission. We just know that he deviated from the standard of care in a number of ways and any of those could have caused this particular infection," Lyons said.

6/13/2013 Related Story: No New Disease Cases Reported In Tulsa Health Scare

Another patient is suing Harrington for negligence. Court records show before Jemina Lotti had surgery, she told the dentist anesthesia stays in her system for a prolonged time.

The lawsuit says, after Lotti's surgery, she was directed to go to her car without a wheelchair or any assistance walking.

Records also show Lotti lost her balance, hit her face on her car and fractured her vertebrae, which resulted in another surgery.

Calls to Harrington's attorney were not returned.

If you were one of his patients, you have until June 28 to get tested at the Tulsa Health Department.

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