Personal Injury Law

St. Elizabeth?s Hospital in Belleville, Illinois Subject of Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

By Steven M. Levin and John J. Perconti

The husband of a medical malpractice victim has filed a lawsuit against St. Elizabeth?s Hospital in Belleville, Illinois. The lawsuit claims that the victim was initially admitted to the hospital with a soft tissue infection in the fatty tissues of the upper leg. She informed hospital personnel that this occurred after she had pinched her left buttock in a toilet seat. The area had grown red, tender and swollen after this incident. The hospital then drained the pressure sore and stated that it was a successful surgery because there was no longer an infection.

However, three days later the victim was complaining of extreme fatigue and a week feeling. Blood cultures showed that there was a high level of E coli in the victim?s body and she had degeneration around the surrounding tissue. The doctors released her and the remaining tissues appeared healthy. She was ordered to use a wound-vac in her infected area and to simply wash and clean the wound. After the hospital she went to a nursing home. A month later her wound had to still not heeled and she was still complaining of pain and discomfort. New blood cultures showed that she had MRSA. The MRSA infection was traced back to the pressure wound. She died a few months later from complications related to the MRSA infection. To read more about this medical malpractice lawsuit, please click the link.

Pressure ulcers and infections are a common form of death. It is important to know the signs and symptoms in order to properly diagnose them. One is that the blood from the body core is warmer than skin temperature. Also, you may be able to detect a small odor caused by the bacilli. To read more signs and symptoms of pressure ulcers, check out the link.

Full post as published by Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog on April 12, 2010 (boomark / email).