Long Island Avoidable Infection Malpractice Lawyer

Infections after a medical procedure can cause immense complications, including slowed recovery and significantly increased medical needs. Unfortunately, all too many of those infections occur for preventable reasons, often due to the negligence of a medical care provider. If you suffered an infection and the devastating medical consequences, a Long Island avoidable infection malpractice lawyer can help you pursue compensation.

How Avoidable Infections Occur

Modern medicine has procedures in place that make it easier than ever to avoid infections when receiving medical care. Unfortunately, some care providers may fail in their duty to complete those protocols, increasing the risk of infection and often causing devastating injuries and losses for the individuals who suffer them. Common breaches in care include:

• Lack of hand hygiene
• Failure to properly clean the medical environment
• Inadequate sterilization procedures
• Contamination of medical equipment or surfaces
• Inadequate wound care after the procedure, including failing to keep the site clean and dry
• Failure to provide patients with adequate wound care instructions to follow after discharge
• Ignoring possible signs of infection or failing to treat symptoms of infection when they arise
• Failure to follow up with a patient following a medical procedure

Airborne contamination, including a medical care provider who does not take adequate precautions to protect their patients, can also pose a serious risk of infection. A Long Island attorney could review an avoidable infection case to determine the cause and liable parties.

Complications Caused by Infections

After a medical procedure, infections can pose immense complications. Not only can they lead to longer hospital stays and increased pain in and around the site of the procedure, not to mention delayed wound healing, but they can also cause:

• Sepsis
• Septic shock
• Pneumonia
• Meningitis (inflammation around the spinal cord and brain)
• Endocarditis (infection of the heart's lining or valves)
• Osteomyelitis (bone infection)
• Organ failure
• Rejection of an implanted device
• Death

These complications can seriously impact a patient's quality of life. In many cases, they can lead to ongoing challenges, including the increased need for long-term medical care. Some patients can die as a result of avoidable infections.

Seeking Compensation After Preventable Infection from a Medical Procedure

If a preventable infection occurs because of a medical care provider's negligence, that care provider may bear liability for their failure to care properly for the patient. Most of those claims will go through the medical care provider's medical malpractice insurance. Sometimes, particularly if a nurse or other medical professional, rather than a doctor, committed the infraction, the claim may go through the hospital or practice's insurance. A Long Island malpractice lawyer could help an injured individual determine who bears liability in their avoidable infection case.

A medical malpractice claim includes a demand for compensation for many of the losses the patient faced, including their increased medical expenses and any increased income losses because of the infection. In addition, patients have the right to pursue compensation for their suffering and anguish, including loss of enjoyment of life.

Contact a Long Island Avoidable Infection Malpractice Attorney

If you suffered complications from an infection caused by a care provider's negligence, a Long Island avoidable infection malpractice lawyer could help you go over the losses you sustained, who committed negligence in your care, and how you can get the compensation you deserve. At Duffy & Duffy, we are committed to helping our clients seek justice following a wide range of injuries, including those caused by medical malpractice. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.