(CBS 5 / AP) OAKLAND
Kaiser Permanente announced Friday afternoon that it is voluntarily suspending its troubled kidney transplant program.
The move follows a series of reports from CBS 5 Investigates, which first uncovered the problems.
Word of the suspension came one day after Kaiser was sued for allegedly bungling cases that led some patients to grow seriously ill and, in one case, die.
A widow of a patient filed a wrongful death action and two patients filed personal injury suits Thursday in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland, which is where Kaiser is headquartered.
The trio of court actions are the first in what could be a series of suits stemming from problems at the health maintenance organization’s San Francisco kidney transplant program, which is under federal and state investigations.
“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” said Jeffrey Milman, a Newport Beach lawyer, who is reviewing cases now. “My guess is that there’s probably at least 1,000 or more people out there that have been wronged. The question is to what extent.”
The problems with the program arose when Kaiser ordered Northern California kidney patients to transfer from University of California hospitals to its new transplant center in 2004, leading to delays blamed on botched paperwork and administrative errors.
A Kaiser official apologized this week and offered to let patients transfer to UC hospitals in San Francisco and Davis.
One plaintiff, Ella Haynes, said her husband, Ronald, died last year after Kaiser bungled his paperwork, effectively removing him from consideration for a kidney.
A second, Darlis Beale, said she became more ill as the HMO delayed her transplant.
The third, Phillip Maxson, said his Kaiser doctor told him three times to travel to the Philippines to get a kidney, rather than waiting for Kaiser.
Kaiser spokesman Matthew Schiffgens said the HMO hasn’t reviewed the lawsuits.
Sacramento attorney Stuart C. Talley, who filed all three suits, expects to file about 15 more cases in the next two weeks.
If you are a Kaiser kidney transplant candidate, the HMO has a 24-hour hotline to answer questions you may have. The number is 1-800-390-3508.