This case concerned an older gentleman who attended a hospital for a neurosurgical procedure concerning his spine. Following the performance of the procedure, he was noted as being incontinent and loose stools were found in his bed and in contact with the surgical wound. This man developed septic shock and required a long stay in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit due to severe infection. The wound was shown to be infected with E. coli and MSSA Staph Capitis. He required further surgeries and had a far longer stay in hospital as a result.
While this gentleman was elderly and his physical condition had not been optimal prior to this infection, his condition deteriorated significantly and quickly following his acquirement of this infection. It was believed that if this had not occurred, he would have had a better outcome in terms of his health.
This gentleman contacted Gerard Malouf & Partners seeking justice for the horrible experience he had in the hospital, and his case was managed by Ms Jayne O’Sullivan, an expert medical negligence solicitor and accredited specialist with the firm. Jayne and her team worked quickly in order to figure out what the most important issues in this case were and how to best bring our client’s claim forward. Expert opinions were sought from a registered nurse as well as an infectious diseases physician, who were both of the opinions that our client was managed negligently and that his septic shock and resulting injuries and disabilities were caused by the negligence of the hospital.
Our client was also assessed by an occupational therapist and a psychiatrist, who provided evidence as to how this medical negligence incident had impacted our client’s daily life in a physical and a psychological sense.
The matter ultimately proceeded to mediation and settled for $200,000. This was an excellent result and one which our client was most pleased with. It is hoped that this compensation will be used to assist them with their future treatment and care needs.
