Infection Malpractice

Infection malpractice cases occur when a patient develops an infection following a surgical procedure or hospitalization.  Although the development of an infection may be a risk that everyone faces when undergoing surgery, or even stepping foot into a hospital, medical providers must also do their part to ensure that their facilities and clean, and precautions are in place to avoid the onset or spread of infection.

Infection is an especially high concern for surgical patients because by the very nature of surgery, the patient’s skin, a primary barrier against infection is opened allowed air and other matter to enter the body.  Surgeons are aware of the significant risk of infection and must take reasonable precautions to protect their patients.  Typical methods of infection prevention include the sterilization of surgical tools and equipment, proper cleaning and disinfection of the surgery site, preventative antibiotics, and a quick and uneventful surgery.  Even outside the operating room, many hospitals have in place an infection control program designed and implemented to do exactly what the name suggests.

A sound infection control program will take into consideration the facility’s geographic location, number of patients seen, the focus of the facility, and the size of the hospital staff.

However, even with all of these infection prevention measures in place, it is still possible for a patient to develop a serious and potential fatal or life threatening infection.  In such circumstances it is necessary to review the medical records and determine if the the infection could have been prevented with reasonable safety measures, or if instead, it is an unavoidable risk of the procedure.