Necrotising fasciitis is a type of bacterial infection. It can be caught anywhere, including in hospital.
To find out more about hospital infection claims Bristol, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us today. We are a specialist team of medical negligence lawyers and will be able to advise you upon your legal rights.
If you do have grounds for a compensation claim, we will work hard on your behalf, fighting to get the financial redress you deserve.
Hospital infections claims – necrotising fasciitis
Necrotising fasciitis is not one of the well-known hospital superbugs such as MRSA or C. Difficile. In fact, it is commonly deemed to be a rare condition, with Public Health England estimating there are 500 new cases of necrotising fasciitis in the UK every year.
It is also important to note that necrotising fasciitis can be caught outside of hospital.
But despite being a rate condition, we have seen a number of cases in which people have developed necrotising fasciitis while staying in hospital. When this happens, the individual in question is said to have a hospital acquired infection.
Hospital patient vulnerable to infection
Hospital patients are vulnerable to necrotising fasciitis because most have a weakened immune system, as well as a break in the skin through which the bacteria can enter. This break in the skin might be a surgical wound, a burn, a tissue injury, a needle pinprick or a cannula.
Indeed, for the necrotising fasciitis infection to occur the bacteria must find a way to get inside the body, where they will then reproduce. This can be so small that the patient would not even consider themselves has having sustained some form of skin trauma. Hospital patients regularly have penetrative wounds to the tissue, be it from an injection, blood test, cannula or injury.
Can I claim for necrotising fasciitis caught in hospital?
As discussed above, hospital patients are susceptible to infection and as such a hospital acquired infection cannot always be prevented. Therefore just because you (or your loved one) developed necrotising fasciitis in hospital does not necessarily mean there are grounds for a claim. A solicitor will be able to clarify this for you.
But where there may be grounds for a claim is if the infection was not diagnosed and treated in a reasonable manner. Necrotising fasciitis must be identified immediately and treatment in the form of debridement surgery carried out without delay. If medical practitioners fail to diagnose and treat the infection, causing the patient to suffer complications, there could be a case of medical negligence.
Please get in touch with us today to find out more.
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