I received this email from Joan in New York who was misdiagnosed as having the HTLV virus by LabCorp. LabCorp mistakes, like this one, cause thousands of dollars in additional tests and devastate the lives of those misdiagnosed. Sadly, LabCorp may have mixed her blood samples with someone elses or could have had a bad reading because of tired, overworked Laboratory technicians. We’ll never know why Laboratory Corporation of America made this mistake, but I can guarantee you that it’s not the first nor will it be the last.

Here’s what Joan had to say:

Labcorp original blood work returned a positive result for HTLV, Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus.  If you can imagine, I was devastated.  The last two weeks have been awful. This virus is much like HIV;  it’s sexually transmitted, and transmitted through needle sharing and blood transfusions. My doctor also communicated there was no cure. 

I could not imagine where I would have contracted such a disease, but I have been feeling weak and tired, and assumed it was true.   My family and I have been devastated.

My doctor does not trust Labcorp, but since Labcorp is the only approved lab with United Health Care, (shame on United Health Care) he ordered a second test.  In the meantime, he has sent me to numerous other MRI appointments and the like looking for tumors, all at the cost of my insurance company.  Last night, I got the results and the second test was negative for HTLV.  I am grateful that I don’t have HTLV, [if I can trust their second test]; but I wonder if there is someone else out there who does… and does not know. I question Labcorp’s  laboratory process and wonder if they got the blood mixed up. Is it possible that there is a person out there who is positive for HTLV and is unknowingly spreading this death sentence virus to others?  Labcorp is incompetent.

I agree with you… Labcorp sucks!

Joan

New York, NY

Here’s information about this dreadful disease and how devastating it is. Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-I) causes adult T-cell leukemia in about 2.5% of those persons infected with the virus. The time between acquiring the infection with HTLV-1 and developing disease is thought to be 30-50 years. HTLV-1 also can cause a neurological disease called HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis in about 5% of those infected. This is an illness that affects the spinal cord and white matter of the central nervous system. Manifestations include difficulty walking and weakness and stiffness of the lower extremities more than the upper extremities. Bowel and bladder control may be lost. A number of other disorders have been associated with HTLV-1 including inflammation of the joints or eyes. HTLV-I is endemic in Japan, the Caribbean, New Guinea and parts of Central Africa. Prevalence is highest in southwest Japan. It is not common in the United States.

Human T-lymphotropic virus type 2 (HTLV-II) may cause neurodegenerative disease such as myelopathy, and it may be associated with hematological malignancies but the association between the virus and these diseases is weak. The virus is endemic in Native Americans in South, Central, and North America.

Enzyme immunoassay screening of serum, with confirmation by type specific western blot, immunofluorescent assay or polymerase chain reaction can be used to determine carrier status and help in confirmation of either HTLV-I or HTLV-II disease. Specific pathological conditions must be present for disease diagnosis.

While this blog deals with LabCorp, there is a recent event with Quest Diagnostics, LabCorps main competitor, that is absolutely disgusting. Quest Diagnostics discriminates against the disabled with service animals. You can read the post on the Disability News blog. I have been going to Quest locations for blood work since having my problems with LabCorp, but when a company discriminates against the disabled it deserves the harshest punishment possible. Now I am reasonable and maybe this is an isolated incident of employees going too far and humiliating a disabled girl in a wheelchair by escorting her out of the facility with her service dog. If that is the case then the company should properly respond by escorting the employees out of the facility forever. The difference between a bad company and a good one is how they handle incidents such as this one. Firing the 2 employees is the only way that Quest will show that it is still a good lab company.

While I have never had a problem with Quest, their service or locations, it seems that they have a policy of absolutely no animals in the patient service centers, even service dogs. At least that’s what the senior employee at the Quest patient center told the wheelchair bound girl while removing her from the center. If Quest does have a policy that allows service dogs, their employees are not aware of it. This clearly discriminates against the disabled that need a service dog to assist them, whether they are blind or in a wheelchair. Service dogs provide very necessary services to those with disabilities. Besides being a companion, they provide those services that allow individuals with disabilities to become a little more independent.

Quest’s actions is a blatant and arrogant violation of the American with Disabilities Act, as well as many state laws. Wal-Mart went through this same issue and this year settled with the United Stated Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, by establishing a new nationwide comprehensive accessibility policy. In addition they paid the government about $250,000.  You can see the Department of Justice’s settlement press release by clicking on the above link.

Since this incident happened recently, I think it’s only fair to see how Quest will handle the situation. Are they going to act like LabCorp and find ways to defend their incompetent employees, or are they going to fire the incompetents? Based on what they do, or don’t do, it might be time for a QuestDiagnosticsSucks website. Oh wait, that domain is already registered to Quest itself. Is that a sign that they know that what they are doing is wrong?