The importance of early sepsis diagnosis
Posted on 15th November 2021
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Here at MG Legal, our medical negligence solicitors are all too aware of the importance of one early detection of sepsis symptoms in patients and an early diagnosis.
A 2020 global report suggested that around 11 million people each year die from sepsis blog poisoning, making the condition potentially even more fatal than cancer. Because of the deadliness of sepsis, and how difficult it can be to diagnose, sepsis has become known as the ‘hidden killer’. According to NHS England, instances of Sepsis nearly doubled between 2016 and 2018, with over 350,000 cases being reported in the latter period.
In this post, our medical negligence solicitors run through alarming new discoveries regarding sepsis, and discuss the importance of an early diagnosis, explaining how to go about getting a diagnosis, and how sepsis can become a medical negligence claim.
MG Legal, Nationwide Medical Negligence Solicitors. The team that put you first. Contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation: 01772 783314 or email at: injury@mglegal.co.uk
Sepsis: the ‘hidden killer’:
In recent days, news of the tragic passing of nurse Jayne Carpenter, who underwent "life-changing" multiple amputations following sepsis, has been shared.
Mrs Carpenter was a well-known campaigner for sepsis diagnosis, after she suffered from the amputation of both of her legs, left arm, and four fingers on her right hand due to sepsis infection.
Jayne Carpenter had visited her GP in 2016 feeling unwell with a bad cough, but was later diagnosed with pneumonia and sepsis while in hospital, and spent two months in a coma.
This story is a deeply upsetting one, that displays firsthand how sepsis can so quickly destroy lives. Our no win no fee medical negligence solicitors know that the timely diagnosis of sepsis is a huge problem, and one that needs to be addressed.
While there is no evidence of medical negligence, or medical sepsis misdiagnosis, in the tragic case of Jayne Carpenter, sepsis misdiagnosis, and delayed sepsis diagnosis, are very real problems across the country, and ones that have devastating effects for many people.
How should sepsis be diagnosed and treated?
A large proportion of those who contract sepsis do so while in hospital for treatment of another existing infection. There are a number of hospital-acquired infections, or infections caught or picked up while in hospital for other treatments, that can commonly lead to sepsis in patients, These include:
Pneumonia
Infections to the blood
Infected surgical wounds
Urinary tract infections
While the contraction of sepsis from one of these hospital-acquired infections, or any other type of infection, does not in itself justify a medical negligence claim, it could be an indication of a medical professional who has made a mistake leading to a hospital-acquired infections (HAI).
Some of the common mistakes that might lead to sepsis include:
Inadequate handwashing
Inadequate aftercare
Improperly sanitised equipment
If it can be proved that a medical professional, or a healthcare facility, failed to meet their requirements to prevent hospital-acquired infections and the development of sepsis, then you could be eligible to make a medical negligence claim with MG Legal.
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When does sepsis become medical negligence?
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that requires immediate medical attention. If a case of sepsis is recognised and treated within the first hour of when the symptoms become apparent, then the survival rates are increased to around 80%.
If your sepsis has been misdiagnosed as another condition, symptoms have been ignored by a medical professional, or the diagnosis was delayed in any way, then you could make a no win no fee medical negligence claim for sepsis negligence.
Infection cannot be 100% prevented, however, the risk of infection can be significantly reduced by proper medical care, and in those cases where infection sets in, there are numerous treatments to prevent the infection becoming serious. Even if Sepsis does set in, timely and properly applied medical treatment can reverse the process, or at the very least minimise its impact so that a full recovery can be made.
If the care you received fell below the required standard, legally defined as being “that of a responsibly body of similarly qualified medical opinion”, then you may well be entitled to make a claim.
Different mistakes that can lead to a successful sepsis negligence claim include:
Delayed diagnosis- whether sent home or kept in a hospital or medical facility waiting for a diagnosis
Misdiagnosis- where symptoms are not recognised as sepsis, and the doctor wrongly diagnoses your sepsis as another medical condition, allowing the sepsis to be left untreated
Test errors- where the necessary diagnostic tests for sepsis are not carried out, are not carried out properly, or the results of the tests are misread
Medication errors- sepsis is given the incorrect medication, or incorrect dosage, leading to ineffective treatment
If you have suffered mistakes in your medical treatment of sepsis, then get in touch with our specialist no win no fee sepsis negligence claims solicitors today to learn more about how we can help you. MG Legal regularly handles such cases and we have successfully pursued many different NHS and Private Hospitals and Medical Practices on behalf of our clients.
Contact our no win no fee medical negligence solicitors:
If you are looking to pursue a no win no fee sepsis negligence claim, the first step is to get in touch with a no win no fee specialist medical negligence solicitor who can work on your claim. The personal injury claims process can be complex and confusing, and you need the legal expertise and help of a fully qualified and experienced solicitor.
Simply get in touch with a no win no fee medical negligence solicitor, here, and you will hear back from us within one working hour. After an initial, no-obligation discussion with a no win no fee solicitor about your potential claim, MG Legal will get a simple claim form sent out for you to fill in and get back to us.
This will give us the information that we need to get to work on building your sepsis negligence claim on the same working day, and win financial compensation on your behalf. The medical negligence claim process can seem overwhelming, but with the help of our no win no fee medical negligence solicitors, it will be entirely stress-free for you as our client.
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