My son was a perfectly healthy child until age 6, when he was diagnosed with systemic rheumatoid arthritis. The doctor insisted on many invasive tests, one being a bone marrow biopsy. He told us my child may have leukemia. We went and had the test done fearing for our sons life.
During this bone marrow biopsy my son was infected, through no fault of our own with osteomyelitis. Months went by until this was diagnosed. This occurred in July, and early in September my sons vertebrae collapsed while he was taking a shower. The doctors told us this was because of the steroids my son was on, weakened his bones. Then my son developed a huge lump in his back. The doctor said it could be a few things mentioning osteomyelitis but never did a test to verify this.
My son was in a great deal of pain, spiking high fevers in which we saw the doctors regularly even having more invasive tests done. In early November my sons legs gave out while I was assisting him to the bathroom. We took him to the emergency room and they told us his spine was very swollen and they needed to go in and place herrington rods to stabilize his spine or he would become paralyzed.
When they went in they found a huge infection and were unable to complete the surgery, taking 2 of my sons vertebrae and placing a cage in its place. Then my son had to lay flat for 30 days on constant antibiotics to clear the osteomyelitis. Within this time if I hadn't been present a nurse would have paralyzed him.
We are completely devastated and have no idea what to do from here. My sons life has been dramatically affected by this infection. Do we have any rights? Is this a case of negligent medical care?
Answer:
Infections contracted in hospitals or clinics, called hospital acquired, or nosocomial infections are difficult to avoid altogether, but should be checked for, diagnosed and treated as early as possible to avoid situations just like this. The hospital may be held liable for your sons injuries and should be subjected to an investigation and potential civil suit.
To initiate a medical malpractice lawsuit, you will need to find and talk to an experienced medical malpractice attorney. These lawyers often have medical doctors on staff or nearby who can investigate the details of the treatment and determine if the hospital staff deviated from the accepted medical standard of care. If this medical doctor finds that medical negligence was the cause of the injury to your son, then you may choose to file a medical malpractice lawsuit for all damages you and your family have suffered. This would include the lifetime cost of caring for your son, pain and suffering as well as any medical bills, future medical expenses and income losses.
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Posted by Staff Writer on 31 Jan 2010