Elder Law

Family Blames Rehabilitation Center for Man?s Sepsis

By Levin & Perconti

The family of a deceased man is blaming the doctor and medical staff at two local rehabilitation centers for the man?s wrongful death following a motorcycle accident. The family filed a nursing home lawsuit against the two rehabilitation centers claiming that their deceased family member arrived at the facility for post-trauma medical care after he sustained severe injuries in a motorcycle accident. During his hospital stay the doctors had inserted an intravenous line into his chest. They then transferred him to the rehabilitation center where he was supposed to work with a doctor for his post injury rehabilitation.
Unfortunately, during his stay the victim developed a staph infection and became septic. He had to be transferred back to the hospital where he was diagnosed with MRSA sepsis due to an infected catheter. He had to be taken to another outpatient facility where he received antibiotic IV therapy and was finally released to his home. At home he continued to suffer from recurrent MRSA and had to go back to the hospital with septic shock. He died less than two months later from congestive heart failure and renal failure. The nursing home lawsuit alleges that the facilities failed to prescribe the proper antibiotic treatment that is needed to combat the infection and failed to properly control that infection. They also allege that they failed to properly diagnose the condition, failed to prescribe appropriate therapy and failed to remove the central line.

MRSA has the potential to easily spread and cause infections in nursing home. The presnese of MRSA in a facility may lead to fewer treatment options for patients when infections occur, with more adverse effects and increased ocsts. Nursing homes must utilize infection control practices that dismantle MRSA in order to protect their patients.

To learn more about the nursing home lawsuit, click this link. To read more about MRSA in nursing homes, check out this link.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on February 16, 2010 (boomark / email).