When Seattle jazz musician Eddie Creed died at a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital, his death certificate said throat cancer had killed him. But a KUOW investigation reveals what his VA doctors knew: A medical device called an infusion pump—which had been recalled the month before—ended his life. The incident led the Seattle VA to quietly shelve nearly $2 million worth of newly purchased pumps. Thousands of patients are harmed by infusion pumps and other medical devices in the United States every year. Finding out how or even where those incidents happened can be an uphill climb for families or others interested in hospital safety, particularly for those whose loved ones are patients at veterans’ hospitals. Our investigation reveals systemic problems in the oversight of medical devices as well as the lethal consequences for one man when a pump flooded his veins with nearly a tenfold overdose of morphine.
