Medical malpractice in Tennessee?
20.May, 2010
I have spoken to a Medical Malpractice Lawyer and he wanted me to get a paper signed from my childs dr stating that if the E.R. dr would have cleaned wound , then child would not have gotten infection and been admitted to hospital. Well my childs dr signed it, so how much does that help my case?
The infection that got into head wound was Strep B, a intestinal infection, so the only way it would have gotten infected if someones hands werent clean and if cleaned out it wouldnt have gotten infected.
Hi clock, he got strep b infection in his head, and the only way to get that is from someones hands. My son had to be admitted for 3 days into hospital with 2 IV’s and he was only 4. That could have been avoided if they would have taken 5 min. to clean it out and it was deep.
Sandra, yes I know it could have come from any of us, but my point is IF THE DR WOULD HAVE CLEANED IT, LIKE HE IS SUPPOSE TO DO, WHICH HE DIDN’T MY SON WOULD NOT HAVE HAD TO BEEN ADMITTED INTO HOSPITAL. The dr didn’t clean it before closing the wound.
I am a little bit confused on the doctor signing a paper that would mean he/she would need to testify
(at some stage, if the necessity arose) against the other doctor.
I see another Answerer has already stated that.
However, I am more confused about the infection that resulted being STREP B and what it has to do with any wound.?
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How do people get infected with group B strep?
Group B strep bacteria are different from many other types of bacteria that can cause disease. People can be "colonized" with group B strep. This means that they carry the bacteria in their bodies but are not infected and do not become sick. Adults can carry the bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, genital tract, or urinary tract. About 10% to 30% of pregnant women are colonized with group B strep in the genital tract.
Colonization with group B strep is usually harmless. The bacteria can become deadly, though, if something happens that allows them to invade the bloodstream. In adults, weakened immunity resulting from cancer treatment or a chronic illness can prompt an infection. More often, pregnant women who carry the bacteria can unknowingly transmit group B strep to their newborns at birth. Newborns can acquire early-onset group B strep disease either before or during delivery. The cause of late-onset disease in babies is not well understood.
How is group B strep infection diagnosed?
Group B strep infection is diagnosed by a laboratory test of blood or spinal fluid.
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Reference:
Courtesy of >>>> www.dhpe.org/infect/strepb.html
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Now: Having referred to the above Reference..The Facts on Strep B, if the doctor that treated your child was a man, I dont think U have a case, as the disease needs to be transmitted and for a man to do that, even with NO Gloves..would be about 10 million to 1 or even more in Odds.
"On the other hand" IF the doctor was a woman ?!!
and was NOT so hygienic, then a case might be established, as she (the female doctor) may have been or is, a Carrier.( Remember here, that the doctors lawyer would also attempt to prove U as the Carrier)
Even so, the Case would come down to being Hygienic..and the Female doctor (if it was a female) would
deny it..If an infection resulted (say it did/was) from negligence, it would need to be a very clear cut issue that negligence resulted in a Carrier transmitting the disease. THIS Female doctor would also need to advise authorities she was a Carrier..IF, in the event she has not advised authorities that she is a Carrier of Strep B and is practising..U got a Million dollar case.(or more)
All this is, however, supposition.
Your Question is >>?Medical malpractice in Tennessee.
What your Question refers to is (if proven) >> malpractice in ANY city/town/country in the World, not just Tennessee.
[FootNote:]
What "Just Me" is attempting to get a message across is that she understands the Strep B and possible Sources. What she is frustrated in IS that regardless of "WHO" was the Infected Carrier..if Hygiene had been lacking then the risk of infection was high and did occur. It does not matter who touched the child and who might have had been or is, the Carrrier..even IF the Mother was the Carrier, IF the wound had been correctly attended to, then the chances of high infection (which did occur) would have been minimal or non-existant.
20.May, 2010 um 10:58 am
Ask you lawyer. But it obviously helps your case.
References :
20.May, 2010 um 11:09 am
It helps. But, ultimately, it’s still going to come down to one Dr’s opinion vs another in court. If the ER Doctors says, "it was cleaned" or "it didn’t need to be", then the child’s doctors note is just his OPINION.
References :
20.May, 2010 um 11:27 am
I am amazed. It is most unusual for a doctor to criticize another doctor much less sign such a paper. Obviously this helps your case tremendously. Now they will just have to testify in court. Good Luck.
References :
20.May, 2010 um 11:48 am
It basically says that your child’s doctor believes the infection was the result of negligence on the part of the ER doctor.
Now, take that to your lawyer and ask him. He knows a lot more about your case than anyone here on Y!A does, and is in a much better position to answer this question for you. Besides, this is part of what you pay him for.
References :
20.May, 2010 um 12:08 pm
That is the basis of the case. To prevail in a malpractice case, you have to have a doctor who is willing to say the other doctor screwed up.
References :
Retired claims adjuster.
20.May, 2010 um 12:18 pm
It adds one more opinion in your child’s favour. However, I am not convinced that there is sufficient evidence to blame the ER doctor. Further, it is unreasonable to conclude that the "only way it would have gotten infected was if someones hands weren’t clean and if cleaned out it wouldn’t have gotten infected." Bacterial spores, viruses and molds are found in clean air. Bacterial spores are not killed with cleansing solutions.
Wounds get cleaned in the OR frequently. They still get infected. Even if the wound would have been cleaned in the ER x10 even then there is no guarantee that the wound would not have become infected.
If the (defendant) doctors attorney offers you an out of court settlement. GRAB it. In the court, the likely hood of victory and multimillion dollar payoff is extremely small.
References :
RN
20.May, 2010 um 1:06 pm
I am a little bit confused on the doctor signing a paper that would mean he/she would need to testify
(at some stage, if the necessity arose) against the other doctor.
I see another Answerer has already stated that.
However, I am more confused about the infection that resulted being STREP B and what it has to do with any wound.?
………………………………………………………………………
How do people get infected with group B strep?
Group B strep bacteria are different from many other types of bacteria that can cause disease. People can be "colonized" with group B strep. This means that they carry the bacteria in their bodies but are not infected and do not become sick. Adults can carry the bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, genital tract, or urinary tract. About 10% to 30% of pregnant women are colonized with group B strep in the genital tract.
Colonization with group B strep is usually harmless. The bacteria can become deadly, though, if something happens that allows them to invade the bloodstream. In adults, weakened immunity resulting from cancer treatment or a chronic illness can prompt an infection. More often, pregnant women who carry the bacteria can unknowingly transmit group B strep to their newborns at birth. Newborns can acquire early-onset group B strep disease either before or during delivery. The cause of late-onset disease in babies is not well understood.
How is group B strep infection diagnosed?
Group B strep infection is diagnosed by a laboratory test of blood or spinal fluid.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Reference:
Courtesy of >>>> http://www.dhpe.org/infect/strepb.html
_________________________________________
Now: Having referred to the above Reference..The Facts on Strep B, if the doctor that treated your child was a man, I dont think U have a case, as the disease needs to be transmitted and for a man to do that, even with NO Gloves..would be about 10 million to 1 or even more in Odds.
"On the other hand" IF the doctor was a woman ?!!
and was NOT so hygienic, then a case might be established, as she (the female doctor) may have been or is, a Carrier.( Remember here, that the doctors lawyer would also attempt to prove U as the Carrier)
Even so, the Case would come down to being Hygienic..and the Female doctor (if it was a female) would
deny it..If an infection resulted (say it did/was) from negligence, it would need to be a very clear cut issue that negligence resulted in a Carrier transmitting the disease. THIS Female doctor would also need to advise authorities she was a Carrier..IF, in the event she has not advised authorities that she is a Carrier of Strep B and is practising..U got a Million dollar case.(or more)
All this is, however, supposition.
Your Question is >>?Medical malpractice in Tennessee.
What your Question refers to is (if proven) >> malpractice in ANY city/town/country in the World, not just Tennessee.
[FootNote:]
What "Just Me" is attempting to get a message across is that she understands the Strep B and possible Sources. What she is frustrated in IS that regardless of "WHO" was the Infected Carrier..if Hygiene had been lacking then the risk of infection was high and did occur. It does not matter who touched the child and who might have had been or is, the Carrrier..even IF the Mother was the Carrier, IF the wound had been correctly attended to, then the chances of high infection (which did occur) would have been minimal or non-existant.
References :
To end my Answers on Q&A in 2009, to ALL
"A Better Year ahead" and May all your days be good ones.
20.May, 2010 um 1:44 pm
I don’t think you have a case at all. According to Web MD, Group B streptococcus (group B strep) is a type of bacteria that causes infection among newborns, pregnant women or women after childbirth, females after gynecologic surgery, and older male and female patients with other serious diseases.
It is something that you yourself could have been carrying and it did not necessarily come from anything at the ER.
Group B strep remains the most common cause among newborns (neonates) of infection of the blood (septicemia) and of the brain (meningitis). The responsible bacterium, usually S. agalactiae, may be found most often in the vagina and rectum of females and may be transmitted sexually, as well as to a fetus as the infant passes through the birth canal.
The following increase an infant’s risk for group B streptococcal septicemia:
Mother who has a fever during labor
Mother who has group B streptococcus in her gastrointestinal, reproductive, or urinary tracts
Rupture of membranes ("water breaks") more than 18 hours before baby is delivered
Prematurity
Prior history of giving birth to a baby with this condition
What I am saying here is that this could have been something that the child got from YOU.
You are always complaining about being sick, have you been checked to see if you have Strep B?
References :
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/streptococcus-group-b
20.May, 2010 um 2:33 pm
This statement will only help your case if one can prove that the standard of care was indeed breached. Any one can sue anyone, however to win, one must PROVE beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the standard of care was breached, thus causing injury, in a medical malpractice or negligence case. Yes, hand washing is the accepted practice for all medical practitioners however the transference of strep B could have occurred despite hand washing. This is not as definitive as something else like Hepatitis discernment. Hep A is fecal in nature, so dirty hands contribute to Hep A infections, however Hep B is blood borne, etc. To win a medical malpractice case, one needs to show convincingly that the practitioner was negligent in doing something that resulted in injury. Simply requiring hospitalization is not always injury. Your child did not die, though did experience some discomfort from the IV antibiotics and the infection. However, medicine too is not an exact science.
Wound sounds as if it also required some sort of lavage procedure, which cleanses deep lacerations or punctures. Being the skin is the front line defense of any infection, any wound or opening in the skin is a potential portal of bacteria, no matter how it got there. All wounds risk infection. Even with the cleanest hands and the best rinses or wound care.
Excellent link provided below describing different sorts of strep.
http://www.answers.com/topic/streptococcal-infections
Hope that helps. It may not be exactly what you wish to hear, however a good attorney for the doctor will present it this way. You must have cold hard proof and not a mere opinion.
Good Luck!
References :
Registered Nurse 25+ years experience