Hospital Malpractice Lawyers: Hospital-Acquired Infections
Hospital-acquired infections cause or contribute to the deaths of nearly 100,000 people each year, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study, published in the March/April 2007 issue of the journal Public Health Reports, estimated that every year 1.7 million hospital patients ― 4.5 of every 100 admissions ― acquire infections during their hospital stays.
A hospital-acquired infection is one that you pick up just from being in the hospital.
With weakened immune systems and other medical issues that make them particularly susceptible to hospital-acquired infections, hospital patients are at risk of contracting a variety of common hospital-acquired infections, including:
- Post-operative infections
- Surgical site infections
- Urinary tract infections (UTI)
- Blood stream infections
- Pneumonia
- Staph infections
Antibiotic-Resistant Infections
MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureusis. It is a potentially fatal type of staph infection that is resistant to antibiotics. The sick, the elderly, and people who have compromised immune systems are at greater risk of contracting MRSA and other hospital-acquired infections.
Patients can acquire these life-threatening illnesses simply from being in a hospital room or operating room. Infections can be caused by hospital employees who fail to follow proper infection control procedures, from sterilizing instruments to washing hands to cleaning the rooms between patients. Many infections are caused by tubes and catheters placed in the body.
Not every hospital-acquired infection is caused by hospital negligence or medical malpractice. If you acquired an infection while in the hospital that led to serious or permanent harm, please contact the attorneys at Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder, PC. We offer a free consultation to review your case and advise you of your legal rights and options.
From offices in Bridgeport, Stamford, Danbury and New Haven, Connecticut, our medical malpractice lawyers represent people throughout the state who have been harmed by hospital negligence.
