You went to the hospital for care, but you ended up with an infection that your body can’t seem to shake. You’ve been hospitalized for weeks, taking antibiotics, receiving fluids and generally struggling to survive. You didn’t expect your emergency room visit to end up with a severe complication from a hospital-acquired infection, but it has. It may be due to a medical provider making a mistake that led to your infection.
In some cases, a delay in treatment of an existing infection can cause severe complications. When you sought treatment, the staff placed you in the waiting room. You complained that you weren’t well, but they kept taking other patients back. After several hours of delays, you nearly collapsed at the front desk and finally got help. By then, you required a series of antibiotics and surgery to stop the spread of sepsis and the deterioration of your body.
You can also develop an infection during surgery. Any time you have surgery, your body is exposed to many germs and bacteria. To suffer an infection like you have now is sometimes a result of medical providers using unsanitary tools or devices.
How do you know if you have a solid medical malpractice case?
If you want to sue, then you should sit down and think about your case. Was there a clear breakdown in communication? Do other medical providers believe you received substandard care? Is the hospital dirty, or did physicians or nurses break protocols? You need to have a solid basis for a claim. Having an obvious error to work with is something all attorneys need to begin working on your case.
A lack of evidence is sometimes common in these cases, especially because of how medical providers are detailing their own interactions with patients. They may leave out details or bend the truth to cover up errors. Still, patients have a right to pursue a claim if they suffer an injury.
Is it better to sue the hospital or medical provider?
In some cases, it’s best to go after both. If the hospital is the employer, then you can pursue a claim directly. The good thing about this is that a hospital is more likely to have higher insurance coverage, so you have a chance of recovering a greater amount in a settlement or at trial. If the doctor is not employed by the hospital but you were not informed, you may still be able to pursue a claim against the hospital as well as against the medical provider directly.