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Severe Hospital-Acquired Infections: When Is The Hospital Potentially At Fault?

23 November 2020 by Kenneth Pierce

Hospital-acquired infections, such as bacterial pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are quite common, and they can all have long-lasting consequences. An out-of-control MRSA infection, for example, can lead to limb amputation. Hospitals have the obligation to take reasonable steps to prevent as many infections as they can, and they can be found medically negligent if they lapsed in their infection control protocols.

When patients develop an infection while in the hospital, it typically extends their hospital stay and puts them at risk of developing injuries that were more serious than what they were admitted for. Hospital-acquired infections can even lead to death. If you developed an infection while in the hospital and suffered a serious injury or had to pay additional bills for treatment, as a result, read on to learn about when the hospital may have been negligent in providing you care.

The Hospital Wasn't Following Proper Sanitation Practices

Due to the fact that disease-causing bacteria and viruses are so prevalent inside hospitals, it's important for hospitals to institute excellent sanitation protocols to cut down on the number of hospital-acquired infections. The medical staff needs to wash their hands frequently, wear protective equipment, and ensure that all of the medical tools they are using have been properly disinfected. If these protocols weren't followed properly during your inpatient stay and you develop a hospital-acquired infection, then the hospital may have been negligent in providing you proper care.

Your Infection Wasn't Caught Early Enough

Even when a hospital is taking all reasonable precautions to prevent hospital-acquired infections, there's still a chance that patients will develop them. Medical staff working in the hospital need to remain alert for the signs of a hospital-acquired infection so that it can be treated as soon as possible. If treatment is delayed, the infection can lead to sepsis. Sepsis can cause severe organ damage with long-term consequences. If hospital staff failed to notice your hospital-acquired infection or if treatment wasn't started promptly, you may have a medical malpractice case against them.

You Were Discharged From the Hospital Prematurely

Hospital-acquired infections need to be taken very seriously due to the fact that they can sometimes cause death or permanent disability. Unfortunately, hospitals may decide to discharge patients before their infection has been completely treated. If a patient is discharged too early, whether it's to their home or to a long-term care facility that lacks the resources necessary to treat a serious infection, then it can worsen and cause injury.

If you came down with a hospital-acquired infection during an inpatient stay and suffered further injury as a result, you should consider scheduling a consultation with a medical malpractice attorney in your area. Hospital-acquired infections often result in additional medical bills, which you'll be able to recover in a successful judgment. If your hospital-acquired infection led to permanent disability, you'll also have the opportunity to recover damages for lost wages or pain and suffering as a result of the infection. A medical malpractice attorney can go over the details of your hospital stay in order to determine whether or not the hospital may have been at fault for your infection. 

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