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1st August 2006
News that more than 50,000 patients contracted one of the most serious hospital superbugs last year, a rise of more than 17 per cent on 2004, is alarming, especially when most of these people thought the care was there to help them.
Cases of Clostridium difficile infection (another serious infection similar to MRSA) in patients aged 65 years and above increased by 17.2% in England over the last year, from 44,107 in 2004 to 51,690 in 2005, according to figures released by the Health Protection Agency. The Agency reports that this increase is because of improved reporting and an increased number of cases. Rates of infection of MRSA were high in a wide range of hospitals throughout the NHS in England.
MRSA infection is an increasingly frequent occurrence among hospital patients, many of whom suffer significant long term consequences if the infection is not fatal. Although many people are aware of MRSA – including hospital managers and staff – the number of infections is getting worse.
Legal claims for hospital bug compensation are often difficult to win, however compensation can be secured if you can show that the infection was negligently contracted or that there was a delay in treating the infection once diagnosed.
It is generally more difficult to succeed in a claim for negligent contraction, as it has to be proved that the hospital failed to comply with a reasonable standard of infection control measures. For example, if you are going into hospital to have an elective procedure and you are admitted to a ward where there are a number of patients with MRSA, if you also subsequently contract the infection, you are likely to succeed in a claim for compensation. This is because the hospital should have placed the patients with MRSA in isolation rooms.
Obvious breaches in hospital policy, for example a failure to wash hands prior to performing a surgical procedure, often give rise to claims, but the difficulty is proving the breach, as although this is a probable occurrence it is rarely documented. Another challenge with these types of cases is proving the time and place of acquisition of the MRSA, particularly in a patient with several hospital admissions.
Cases where MRSA has been diagnosed but there has been a clear delay in treatment are more likely to succeed.
Therefore, whilst MRSA is common and in most cases non-preventable, successful claims can be achieved where there is good evidence of failure to adhere to the infection control policy, or delay in treating the infection.
If you or anyone you know has contracted MRSA, Clostridium difficile, another hospital infection or in fact suffered from any form of clinical negligence, telephone us now for accurate claim advice.
There are strict time limits in place to make any injury claim. For further information, contact us or visit our Questions Answered page.
Thompsons Solicitors are experts in all matters relating to clinical negligence and medical negligence and will be able to advise you as to whether or not you have a valid claim for compensation. Their specialist clinical negligence lawyers will be happy to talk you through the process of making a claim in plain English and will be happy to answer any questions or queries you may have.
Telephone us now on 08000 224 224 or complete one of our online compensation claim forms.
Please also read Thompsons' Information Leaflet about Clinical Negligence.