Undiagnosed Postoperative Infections - A Fatal Mistake

Infections are a relatively common complication associated with almost any surgical procedure.  Sometimes infections can occur even despite the best efforts of doctors and hospital staff.  If a postoperative infection does occur, however, it is necessary for health care providers to recognize the signs of infection, and to act promptly to prevent disaster.

One of the earliest signs of infection is accelerated breathing, which is a result of the body's efforts to fight the infection.  The patient's temperature will increase as the infection worsens.  If the infection moves into the abdomen, the bowel can become toxic and distended.  If not diagnosed, the infection can cause paralytic ileus of the intestinal musculature, which disrupts the normal activity of the gastrointestinal track.  This inhibits transport of the contents of the intestine, resulting in worsening distension of the abdomen.  This condition is obvious and painful, and can be fatal if not promptly treated.

In a recent case we resolved for a Utah family, however, hospital nurses were inattentive and ignored the patient's complaints and overlooked these symptoms.  Had they been properly monitoring this patient, they would have noticed the clear signs of postoperative infection and notified a doctor.  Finally, after a shift change brought new nurses, they called the wrong doctor and simply left a message, all while the patient's condition was rapidly deteriorating.

When a physician finally arrived, there were no intestinal sounds cannot be detected by auscultation (deathly silence) and the patient had begun to vomit bile and gastric contents.  Despite surgical intervention, the infection had been allowed to persist too long, and it killed a husband and father.

Obviously, there was no way to replace this man, who was beloved by his family and friends.  But through vigorous legal representation and affiliating with some of the country's best medical experts, we were able to prove the negligence of the health care providers and recover money to help the family pay medical bills and funeral expenses, and to compensate them for the lost income of the head of their household. 

Infections are an undesirable outcome of many surgical procedures.  Even if the infection is not the result of negligent treatment, the failure to promptly diagnose a postoperative infection is a form of medical malpractice.  Unnecessary delays in diagnosis result in prolonged hospital stays, missed work, and extraordinary medical bills.  Worse, if an infection is untreated for too long, it can result in the wrongful death of the patient.

As Utah Medical Malpractice attorneys, we have helped many families of people injured by failure to diagnose postoperative infections.  If you have questions about postoperative infections, we have answers.  You can call and speak with attorney for a free, no obligation consultation today.

801-424-9088