Post-Treatment Infections and Medical Malpractice

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Shapiro Law Group

Many times we think of medical malpractice as arising when the doctor is in the middle of surgery and something goes terribly wrong with the procedure at hand. However, medical malpractice can occur in a variety of situations, and as The Journal News reports, post-treatment infections can be one of those instances.

A Rockland County jury recently awarded a man $2.3 million after he claimed that the head of orthopedic surgery at Nyack Hospital left a serious infection untreated, which caused irreparable damage and constant pain.

The jury in the medical malpractice case found Dr. Jason Fond liable for the botched treatment.

Court papers reported that the patient was sent home on Oct. 1, 2010, although test results showed he was suffering from a serious and painful bacterial infection.

By the time he was taken back to the hospital, a mere two days later, the infection had caused so much damage that the patient was forced to undergo a hip replacement procedure three months later.

The victim’s attorney stated, “Doctors shouldn’t take needless risks that endanger their patients by prematurely discharging them…Patient safety requires that there be a follow-up on test results, especially when a misdiagnosis is likely to result in substantial injury.”

The patient was sent to Hudson Valley Radiology Associates for a MRI and while there, he was given an injection that was believed to have caused the infection.

When he checked into Nyack Hospital, he had a culture test done. Still, he was released even though the test results were available to show that he had a serious bacterial infection.

The case before us demonstrates how medical malpractice can be attributed to not only physician mistakes, but also hospital mistakes. It seems evident that the hospital had a duty to have competent and prudent staff administering post-treatment who would have been aware of the bacterial infection.

As much as the patient suffered, it is fortunate that he was able to take his case to trial and be compensated for his injuries. All too often, victims of medical malpractice are not sure of their rights and can let the statute of limitations expire on filing a claim for medical malpractice by doctors, hospitals and other healthcare professionals, and this is why it is important to find an experienced medical malpractice attorney.

Did You Know: The Center for Disease Control claims that at least 1.7 million people contract infections in U.S. hospitals each year.

Shapiro Law Group – Medical Malpractice Attorneys Serving the Tampa Bay Area

Source: http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/2014/08/02/nyack-hospital-malpractice-jason-fond/13531431/

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