Medical Malpractice: Hospital Acquired Infections

Hospitals and nursing homes are supposed to be clean and hygienic places. People visit these places for treatment of their medical conditions, and if the hospital does not ensure sanitation, it can lead to further deterioration of a patient’s health, and they can contract infections. Failure on the part of the doctors, nurses, or staff at a health care facility to provide patients with safe and hygienic hospital environments often lead to health complications and it amounts to medical malpractice. 

Many people feel that hospital acquired infections are unavoidable. However, that is far from the truth. Research has shown that hospital acquired infection can be substantially reduced if the hospital staff exercises reasonable care in ensuring sanitation, and through enforcement of policies and procedures that promote hygienic conditions. In short, hospital acquired infections are preventable. 

Some measures that can dramatically reduce the incidence of hospital acquired infections are hand washing by staff, proper sterilization of surgical and medical instruments, use of antiseptic solutions, proper isolation of patients suffering from infections from other patients, and various other sanitation and safety measures.

A hospital acquired infection is usually described as an infection that is not related to the condition for which the patient is seeking treatment at the hospital. Normally, an infection that shows up 48 hours or more after the patient gets admitted to the hospital can be termed as a hospital acquired infection. However, some hospital acquired infections cause symptoms only after the patient has been discharged from the hospital. 

Hospital acquired infections can be of several types. Some of them are:

Urinary tract infection: These infections affect organs of the urinary system such as bladder, urethra, kidneys, and uterus. 

Staph infections, MRSA: Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus or MRSA is a common staph infection that occurs in people with compromised immune system.

Surgical site infections: These infections are caused because of improperly sterilised surgical instruments, or other sources present inside the operating room. 

Blood stream infections: These deadly infections include HIV, mumps, SARS, Hepatitis-A, B and C, and tuberculosis. Some of these are treatable, while others can be life threatening. 

Pneumonia: It is a lung infection that usually affects people with low immunity. In severe cases, it can be life threatening. 

No matter what type of infection you have acquired from the hospital, it will be necessary to prove that negligence was involve in the hospital acquired infection case. It will require hospital infection surveys and analysis of medical records. It may also be necessary to analyse the post operative period to determine if the infection was left undiagnosed for a long time, and the delay in treatment aggravated the condition that resulted in serious complications. 

Only an experienced medical malpractice lawyer can help prove negligence in a hospital acquired infection case. If you or someone close to you has acquired an infection during treatment at the hospital, you should immediately consult a competent medical malpractice lawyer with all your case details and medical records.

To speak with an attorney call the Zevan and Davidson Law Firm at (314) 588-7200