Hospital faces three lawsuits

Two of the patients died shortly after treatment.
SHARON, Pa. -- Sharon Regional Health System faces three medical malpractice lawsuits filed by patients and their families stemming from a July 2004 matter where police were called to investigate.
The lawsuits contend that the patients, who were admitted to the hospital in mid-July 2004, all suffered very low blood-sugar levels after being injected with insulin. None of the patients had been prescribed insulin, according to court papers.
Two of the patients, Walter Huey and Joseph Noga, both of Hermitage, died as a result of the treatment, the lawsuits contend.
The third person, Jodi Evans of Greenville, recovered.
Suits filed
Noga's family filed its lawsuit Feb. 9, while Noga's family filed a lawsuit Dec. 19. Evans and her husband filed their suit Jan. 3. All three are represented by Pittsburgh law firm Portnoy & amp; Quinn.
A fourth person was also affected by low blood-sugar levels at that same time, but has not filed a lawsuit.
The four nondiabetic patients, all in the same area of the hospital, experienced symptoms of low blood pressure such as clamminess, disorientation and a dropping heart rate.
The matter became public when Mercer County District Attorney Jim Epstein called a press conference in July 2004 to announce that a major criminal investigation was being conducted.
Sharon Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration were involved, but no charges were ever filed.
In 2004, the hospital described it as a "medical error."