Lawyers at Leigh Day & Co have successfully handled a great number of cases relating to the poor clinical management of infections. Whilst the acquisition of such infections as MRSA, Clostridium difficile and E.coli O157 receives widespread coverage in the media, it is less well-known that the poor clinical management of such infections can have devastating consequences on the lives of those who have acquired them.
Clinical failures investigated by our lawyers include the missed or late diagnosis of infection and the incorrect or inappropriate treatment of infection once it has been identified, prescribing the wrong drug, or the wrong dose for insufficient time to destroy the infection and prevent if from spreading. The outcome for those who experience a severe infection can be catastrophic and life-threatening. We have acted for the families of people who have died, as well as those who have suffered from brain damage, or who have lost limbs. We have acted in cases that involve:
- The chronic non-union of fractures
Illustrations of infection cases we have handled include:-
- A claim relating to the failure and delay by a Trust to diagnose and treat our client’s cellulitis promptly, which led to renal failure, septicaemia and consequently the development of osteomyelitis. Our client had to undergo intensive rehabilitation and was eventually discharged home with 24-hour care and is now effectively wheelchair dependant.
- Acting for a client who has an infection in his shoulder. He received inadequate care, including insufficient antibiotic treatment which allowed the infection to remain in his system and spread to his spine where is caused significant and lasting damage to his vertebrae.
- Representing a child who was only a week old when she was infected with listeria. She was being cared for after her birth at the hospital when she was cross infected with listeria from another baby. She developed meningitis which caused brain damage. The infection also caused fluid to build up around her brain (hydrocephalus) which was not diagnosed until a year later.
- Acting for a three year old girl who contracted a rare form of tuberculosis which left her with chronic ear infections and ultimately loss of hearing. Her GP failed to advise on BCG vaccination before the visit and also failed to diagnose the infection on her return.
- Representing a one year old boy who became deaf after his meningitis infection was undiagnosed by a hospital for 48 hours. The boy had hearing before the infection and was taken to hospital when his parents realised that he was seriously ill. Sadly the hospital failed to diagnose the meningitis infection for two days, at which point he was given intravenous antibiotics. However by that time his hearing had been seriously affected, a side effect common in early childhood meningitis.
- Representing a young woman who suffered extensive loss of abdominal muscle and tissue due to the failure to diagnose and treat necrotising fasciitis.
- Acting for a client who died in hospital due to a failure of that hospital to consider and diagnose botulism, which came from eating improperly cooked meats. This is very rare in the UK still but more common now that there are more migrant workers from Eastern Europe, where home cured meat is still a specialty. Our client's case has assisted in making the clinicians in this country more aware of the disease.
If you would like to contact us about a similar case please contact one of our in-house nurses, Anne McCrea or Denise McAneny.
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