Contact Marrone Law in Philadelphia for a free consultation about your hospital infection claim.

Factors That Put Philadelphia Patients at Risk of Hospital-Acquired Infections

Due to the nature of hospitals and the people who come visit hospitals, germs and disease are naturally all over the place. This means that hospital patients will typically be at greater risk of infection than in other locations. There are supposed to be special regulations in place in Pennsylvania to decrease the chances of a patient suffered a hospital-acquired infection.

The three main factors that tend to make a PA patient more at risk of hospital infection include:

1. Direct Patient Factors – Severity of an injury or illness the patient has, time of patient’s stay, patient’s immune system strength, and overall patient health.
2. Organizational Factors – Hospital cleanliness level and consistency of janitors and cleaners, air conditioning filtration, heating systems, water system cleanliness, building surfaces, and hospital tools and equipment being kept sterile.
3. Iatrogenic Factors – Care level of all medical staff, including washing hands, antibiotic use, carefulness with invasive procedures, following cleaning and sterilization procedures, coming to work sick, etc.

Sepsis and Septic Shock Resulting from Hospital-Acquired Infections at Pennsylvania Medical Facilities

When a person gets an infection, it can often be maintained with antibiotics and proper cleaning and treatment. Patients with weak immune systems, however, can easily be at risk of an infection taking a very serious turn. Sepsis may begin to occur, resulting in the body attacking its tissues and organs and leading to septic shock within only a few hours. Septic shock can cause the body and organs to begin shutting down completely. Up to 50% of patients who get sepsis in a hospital do not survive, making it the number-one killer in a hospital environment. Given how quickly a serious hospital infection can kill, incompetence and delayed diagnosis can result in deadly consequences. The reality is that medical malpractice with hospital infections doesn’t always end at JUST an infection.

The Challenges of Proving Liability in Philadelphia Hospital Infection Cases

Getting an infection doesn’t always amount to a winning lawsuit. That’s because an infection can happen for any number of reasons, such as exposed wounds and the nature of hospitals. Moreover, infections don’t usually have any lasting effects on an individual (unless it was a serious infection that resulted in scarring on the face). To be able to bring a winning hospital infection case, sepsis or septic shock often had to occur. This type of infection can result in higher medical bills, organ damage, or even wrongful death.

Establishing the liable parties for the infection or loss of a loved can be very difficult, and every patient scenario is unique. Unless it was a publicly revealed, hospital-wide outbreak for which many people are now eligible for compensation, it tends to take a lot of investigating and medical analysis to establish a hospital-acquired infection case in Pennsylvania. Many questions must be asked, such as why the diagnosis and treatment had delays, how the infection was contracted, or questions involving infection prevention. It is also important to determine if the hospital is at fault or if a doctor might be personally liable due to the nature of their employment.

In summary, some of the most important things to consider for a Philadelphia hospital infection case are:

1. Was a patient’s health already compromised, making their immune system weaker and caused them to be more susceptible to contracting infections?
2. How quickly, if at all, did the individual get treatment for the infection before things got to the stage of sepsis?
3. What parties were involved in the treatment of the patient, as well as the cleaning and regulation of the hospital environment, that may have given rise to the hospital-acquired infection?

PA Medical Malpractice Attorneys Advise Clients Who Are Suffering Lasting Effects of Hospital Infections in Philadelphia

Hospitals are meant to be places that individuals go to improve their health. So, when someone contracts an infection due to careless employees or a dirty environment, this can be very frustrating. It is even more stressful when an infection worsens and has lasting effects on one’s overall health and well-being. The experienced PA medical malpractice attorneys at the Marrone Law Firm understand how difficult it can be to settle an infection claim with positive results. We understand that the key to the success of these types of cases involves obtaining solid medical evidence on sources of infection and having an expert witness to examine the evidence. If you choose us as your attorneys, we can use all the resources available to us, as well as our extensive knowledge of PA medical malpractice law, to build your hospital infection case and get you the settlement you need, want, and deserve.

Email us today or call us at our Philadelphia office for a free consultation.