Hospitals are places people go to get well and recover from illnesses. But for some patients, this does not prove to be the case. every year a number of patients contract dangerous infections from their hospital stays, resulting in injuries or even wrongful death.
Over 2 million infections occur each year as the result of a hospital stay, and over 90,000 of these infections lead to death. Hospital infections can be contracted due to a prolonged hospital stay, failure of hospital staff to wash their hands, or improper procedures or sanitation during surgery.
Because they have a legal obligation to provide sanitary and safe conditions for their patients, hospitals can be held liable for the damages caused by infections. These are considered New York medical malpractice personal injury claims. Some recent notable examples of hospital infections in medical malpractice cases include:
- A Utah woman who was exposed to flesh-eating bacteria while delivering a baby in a hospital, losing three of her limbs and several of her organs, settled her case for $16 million in November 2008.
- A Missouri man who got a staph infection and lost his kidney, his leg, and his foot while in the hospital having a pacemaker inserted was awarded $2.58 million in July 2008.
- The family of a Massachusetts woman who died of a flesh-eating virus while in a hospital for cancer treatment was awarded $13.5 million by a Jury in November 2008.
The first step in filing a medical malpractice case is to contact a Manhattan medical malpractice attorney. An experienced lawyer can help prove fault in your case, file the paperwork, and argue on your side in court. Hiring a good lawyer is essential to the success of your case.
Call the experienced Manhattan medical malpractice attorneys at Rappaport, Glass, Greene and Levine today for a free consultation on the specifics of your case. We can be reached in Manhattan or Long Island at (800) 734-9445.
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