Sepsis Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Sepsis Medical

Malpractice Lawyer

Sepsis is a life-threatening medical condition that requires immediate medical attention to prevent patients from going into septic shock. Sepsis occurs when our immune systems malfunction in response to an infection, even a routine infection. It can happen to anyone. If the patient is allowed to slip into severe sepsis and then into septic shock, they may suffer peripheral gangrene, death of tissue, amputation of limbs and even death.

How Attorney Render Freeman Helps Victims of Medical Malpractice

Atlanta-native attorney Render Freeman seeks to protect the rights of sepsis victims in instances where medical malpractice may have occurred and to ensure that they receive the compensation they deserve. He obtains justice for his clients, thanks to his dedication to their welfare.

In his work over the last 25 years, Mr. Freeman prides himself on his ability to truly listen and hear what his clients are saying, what they have lost and how they have suffered. He is at home in the courtroom, empowering the jury to see the wrong that has been done and to make the right choice.

He is known as an expert litigator. In his previous career as a defense attorney for insurance companies informs his understanding of how insurance companies operate and what factors make them give up their defenses and make a fair settlement offer.

With the small number of cases he accepts, his knowledge and experience, and his expert care and concern for his clients, Mr. Freeman is the right attorney to advocate for you in your necrotizing fasciitis misdiagnosis case.

Do I Have a Sepsis Malpractice Case?

For your medical malpractice attorney to help prove your case, it must meet four criteria that demonstrate the medical professional’s negligence. The first element you must establish is the doctor’s duty of reasonable care. Duty is typically proven by showing that a doctor-patient relationship existed and that the doctor had a duty of reasonable care towards his patient. You may use medical records, appointment records, and communication logs to prove this aspect of negligence.

Second, your attorney must prove that your doctor breached their duty of care to their patient by failing to diagnose their condition. Doctors are held to a standard of care that is equivalent to what other reasonable doctors would have done under similar circumstances when presented with a similar patient. Medical experts are used to establish the medical standard of care in medical malpractice cases. Therefore, if a reasonable doctor with similar skills and training would have ordinarily detected sepsis when your doctor did not, a case for medical malpractice can be made.

The next element requires that the culpable actions on the part of the doctor for misdiagnosing sepsis were the legal cause of the patient’s injuries. In other words, if not for the careless actions of the doctor, the patient would not have suffered the injuries sustained.

Once injuries are established, the last element that must be proven is that the patient suffered actual damages. Damages are losses incurred because of the injury, for example medical bills, physical therapy expenses, lost income as well as pain, suffering and lost quality of life.

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How Common is Sepsis?

Sepsis is one of the leading causes of death in U.S. hospitals. It most commonly affects patients under the age of two and over the age of sixty, especially those with compromised immune systems, ongoing chronic conditions, and poor health, but it can affect anyone.

More than a million people contract severe sepsis each year, with 15 to 30% of cases resulting in death. Sepsis has been on the rise in the U.S. due to increased awareness and tracking of the condition, people with chronic diseases living longer, antibiotic resistant infections and a higher number of organ transplants. Despite greater awareness of the condition, sepsis still goes undiagnosed in many patients.

What is Sepsis?

The medical community has been well aware of sepsis for a very long time. In 1991, the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) and the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) convened a “Consensus Conference” to provide a conceptual definition of systemic inflammatory response syndrome, sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock. They met again in 2001 and, most recently, in 2016.

Sepsis stems from an already-occurring infection, typically bacterial; however, fungal and viral infections are also common precursors. Sepsis is clinically defined as your body’s abnormal response to an infection.

If you have sepsis, your body turns on itself and starts attacking cells, tissues, and organs via the bloodstream instead of attacking the microorganisms causing the infection. Depending on its severity, sepsis can damage entire organ systems.

When sepsis is not treated promptly, a patient can go into severe sepsis and then septic shock. Septic shock presents a drastic decrease in blood pressure requiring medications such as vasopressor medications to bring the blood pressure to a safe range, typically 65 mm Hg (Mean Arterial Pressure). Vasopressors may save the patient’s life, but they may do so at the expense of the patient’s arms and legs. Early treatment using aggressive antibiotics and large amounts of intravenous fluids drastically improves chances of survival.

Early Warning Signs of Sepsis

The early warning signs that doctors should be aware of are high heart rate and fever, shivering, or feeling very cold. Once sepsis sets in, common symptoms include:

Fever
Chills
Rapid breathing
Rapid heart rate
Rash
Confusion
Disorientation
Clammy or sweaty skin
Shortness of breath
Extreme pain or discomfort
A feeling of imminent death

Yearly Deaths in Georgia from Septicemia

The Risk of Failing to Detect Sepsis Early

There is no one test to determine sepsis. Instead doctors must listen to their patients, believe the patient’s subjective reports of pain and symptoms, and search for a source-infection.

As previously mentioned, if sepsis is not treated promptly, septic shock will occur. Septic shock involves rapidly decreasing blood pressure resulting in the body’s failure to deliver blood, oxygen and nutrients to vital organs.

Vasopressors can be helpful in treating septic shock because they increase blood pressure and improve organ and neurological function, but if the patient’s sepsis has been allowed to go untreated for too long, the quantity of vasopressors necessary to save their lives, may cut off blood flow to the extremities, resulting in tissue death, gangrene and amputation. Doctors will sometimes use norepinephrine as a first vasopressor. If that fails to bring up blood pressure, epinephrine can be used.

Septic shock also sends your body’s blood-clotting system into overdrive, which blocks the ability for blood to get to all areas of your body. Once the blood vessels are completely closed, your hands, arms, feet, etc. cannot get blood and begin to die and contract gangrene. The tissue will eventually turn black. The area of tissue that dies must be removed because it enhances the infection’s ability to spread. This can result in amputation of the hands and feet.

The Risk of Failing to Detect Sepsis Early

Cause and Prevention of Sepsis

Sepsis begins with an infection. Scientists and doctors still do not fully understand the mechanism that changes the body’s immune response from fighting the infection to attacking the body. Prevention of infection is essential to protect against sepsis.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends the following to prevent infection and reduce your risk of contracting sepsis:

They encourage doctors to actively perform checks and offer education to those patients with chronic health issues and compromised immune systems. Patients with chronic medical conditions are most likely seeing their doctor on a regular basis, this provides the perfect opportunity for their doctor to check for infection, open wounds, rashes, etc.
Keep up to date on your vaccinations. Pneumonia is a common infection that leads to sepsis. The CDC also noted that only one third of sepsis patients were vaccinated with the flu vaccine. Staying up to date on vaccinations can prevent future infection
One fourth of sepsis patients developed sepsis after a urinary tract infection. Early treatment for this condition is essential.
One in ten sepsis patients contracted it after not properly treating an open wound. The CDC recommends thorough cleaning of any open wound, as well as keeping the wound clean and dry.
Lastly, hospitals are a prime spot for bacteria, fungus, and viruses to collect. Twenty percent of sepsis cases stem from an infection beginning in the hospital. Make sure to practice cleanliness while in the hospital and require friends, family members, doctors, and nurses to sanitize before any interaction.

Common Misconceptions About Sepsis

Although we mention hospitals as a source of infection that precedes sepsis, it is also a common misconception that most sepsis cases start in the hospital. In fact, 80% of sepsis cases are caused by infections from schools, work places, homes, parks, and public places outside the hospital. It is equally important to practice the same caution regarding bacteria and other infectious organisms outside the hospital.

Another common misconception about sepsis is that it is a type of infection. It is important to understand that sepsis is not an infection but your body’s response to an already occurring infection. Preventing infection prevents sepsis.

Lastly, it is not uncommon for individuals to believe that infections are not a serious medical condition. Many patients contract staph infections, strep throat, urinary tract infections and make an appointment with their general doctor and receive antibiotics. However, there are times that individuals think they can wait a few days to a week before being seen for the infection due to work, prior commitments, child care obligations, and more. Failing to be treated for an infection increases the risk of sepsis, and undertreated sepsis can lead to death. In fact, sepsis leads to more deaths each year than breast cancer, prostate cancer, and HIV/AIDS combined.

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In 2017, a $1 million settlement was granted to the surviving spouse of an Illinois man who died from lack of prompt medical treatment for his sepsis. The man went to the emergency room and had to wait two hours before antibiotics were introduced into his system. Though he was eventually diagnosed with sepsis, it was too late. Three hours after the diagnosis, the man passed away. While no amount of money can be placed on a life, the jury awarded $1 million to his family to assist with medical expenses, loss of companionship, and other expenses related to his wrongful death.

Another 2017 Illinois case involved a twelve-year-old female that went to the hospital with mononucleosis, strep, and a developing organ infection. The child was sent to receive a CT scan instead of prompt treatment of her developing sepsis. Before antibiotics were administered, she developed sepsis, which spread to her brain causing permanent brain damage. The jury awarded $40 million dollars for her required future care and the gross negligence on the part of the medical providers.

Another case was privately settled in Maryland in 2016, in which the hospital provided over $1 million to the family. The victim, a father and husband, went to the hospital in 2016 with chills, fever, and a rapid heart and respiratory rate. The hospital administered intravenous fluids and released the patient the same day, failing to detect sepsis. The patient went to his general doctor the next day, who immediately recognized the signs of sepsis and had him transported to the hospital via ambulance. Unfortunately, the patient died the next day.

The tragic consequences of failure to detect and diagnosis sepsis are unacceptable in this era of medical sophistication and technology. Treating the condition right away with antibiotics and intravenous fluids has far less consequences than failing to consider sepsis when a patient arrives at the doctor’s office or hospital with obvious symptoms.The statute of limitations in Georgia to bring a medical malpractice claim is two years from the date of the injury or the date of death. To preserve your rights and right to compensation for injuries you or your loved one endured resulting from sepsis misdiagnosis, contact Render Freeman of Andersen, Tate & Carr law firm today.

Sepsis Medical Malpractice FAQs

Why do doctors fail to diagnosis necrotizing fasciitis?

Because they don’t trust their patients! The classic symptom of necrotizing fasciitis is pain that is “out of proportion” to the physical appearance of the patient. For example, a patient has a red patch of skin on their shoulder, has a fever, a high heart rate and has been having diarrhea and vomiting for the last 12 hours. The pain is described as 8 or 9 out of a possible 10, “excruciating,” “on fire’,” or “burning.” The doctor looks at the red patch of skin and chooses to simply not believe the patient, sending them home with some mild prescription pain medication and maybe a weak antibiotic.

Doctors also fail to diagnose necrotizing fasciitis because they fail to recognize that their patient is also in the early phases of sepsis. For more information about sepsis, click here.

Doctors (especially urgent care and emergency room doctors) need to familiarize themselves with necrotizing fasciitis. Knowledge of the early signs of necrotizing fasciitis, such as pain that is out of proportion for a simple skin infection, should be a red flag. Retaining a high degree of suspicion if the patient does not improve is critical.
What Happens if a Doctor Fails to Diagnosis the Disease Properly?

Immediate treatment must begin if a patient is suffering from necrotizing fasciitis to prevent the spread of the infection and potential death. This condition is considered a life-threatening disease. Aggressive surgical and medical treatment is needed to decrease the chance of limb loss, disfigurement, scarring, and permanent disability. In addition, delayed treatment can result in sepsis, multi-organ failure, and death.

The ultimate determination in a patient’s outcome is dependent on how quickly the disease was diagnosed and treated, the type of bacteria, how quickly the bacteria spread, and how well the patient is responding to antibiotics. Without immediate proper treatment, the spread of infection will continue, leading to tissue damage, sepsis, loss of function in extremities, and as previously mentioned, death.

The only way to successfully treat necrotizing fasciitis is with surgical removal of the affected dead tissue and intensive and powerful IV antibiotics. The outcome for a patient that does not receive this treatment can be life altering or, worse yet, deadly.
Is the Disease Contagious?

Necrotizing fasciitis is not considered to be a contagious disease. However, bacteria can be shared to another person in close contact with the infected patient. If the patient infected with necrotizing fasciitis has an open wound that comes in contact with another individual’s open wound, it is possible the bacteria can cross skin barriers. However, this is rare. For example, if the strain of bacteria causing the necrotizing fasciitis is the MRSA strain, then a new MRSA infection can emerge. MRSA can affect any organ in the body and many strains are resistant to most antibiotics. MRSA can cause necrotizing fasciitis and presents similar signs and symptoms.

Proper handwashing and wound care around others with necrotizing fasciitis will typically prevent any spreading of the disease to others.

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Sepsis Medical Malpractice Lawyer