Ohio Attorneys Handling Hospital Negligence Cases
Millions of individuals acquire hospital-caused infections every year. Typically, these infections are resistant to conventional medications, making them difficult to treat. In part because they are drug-resistant, the infections cause many deaths each year. They also cause complications in the treatment of the illness that caused the patient to be admitted to the hospital in the first place. Even when the patient survives, the infection lengthens his or her hospital stay, sometimes by weeks or months.
People go to the hospital expecting to get better, not worse. While not every bad outcome means you have a lawsuit, if the hospital's failure to keep the facility clean leads to your acquiring an infection, you may have a case. Most people come to us wanting answers, and we help them determine whether their hospital-acquired infection was a preventable and compensable failure by the hospital. —
Partner
Rhonda Baker Debevec
Hospital Infections: Preventable
In most instances, these infections are the result of negligence by staff in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other care centers. They include blood infections from IVs, urinary tract infections from catheters, wound infections after surgery and pneumonia associated with the use of ventilators.
These infections usually have simple causes: improper hand washing, inadequate sterilization of instruments and equipment, and insufficient cleaning of patient rooms and common areas. Because these types of infections are so common, hospitals, nursing homes and other organizations have developed protocols that, when followed, can reduce the incidence of infection. However, the continued existence of these infections means that staff are not complying with established procedures for hand washing, cleaning or sterilization.
Our Cleveland attorneys represent clients who suffered a hospital-caused infection. We also take wrongful death cases on behalf of families whose loved ones died as a result of infections acquired in a hospital, nursing home or assisted living facility. We are known as lawyers who prepare cases thoroughly in anticipation of trial. Consequently, the other side — the hospital's insurance company — often makes a fair settlement offer before trial. The opposition's attorneys prefer the certainty of a settlement to the risk and expense of going to trial.
Patients in hospitals are already compromised because of the illness that brought them there. This makes them especially susceptible to infections caused by superbugs — bacteria that are drug-resistant. They may be taking antibiotics already and are thus more likely to catch an infection from a superbug — the antibiotics they are taking for their primary illness weed out the more benign bacteria.
Experienced, Sophisticated, Reputable
Spangenberg Shibley & Liber is recognized as one of the pre-eminent medical malpractice law firms in Ohio. We are one of the first civil litigation firms to take on individual and mass tort cases that have had a lasting impact on how negligence laws have been shaped over the past several decades. If you believe that you or a loved one contracted a serious infection as a result of a stay in the hospital, we can talk with you about your legal options. You may be eligible to file a lawsuit. At our Cleveland law firm, we have been helping victims of medical negligence for more than 65 years and can provide you with sound advice.
Free Consultation · Contingency Fees · Spanish and Ukrainian Interpreters
We offer free, confidential consultations to determine whether you have a hospital infection case. Please contact us as soon as possible to avoid deadlines that may exclude you from filing a claim. We handle all medical negligence matters on a contingency basis, so if we tell you that you have a case, be assured that we are prepared to move forward without charging you attorneys' fees. You owe us only if we win compensation for your loss.
Remember, if you have a claim, there is most likely a statute of limitations clock running, after which you won't have the right to file a lawsuit. Protect your rights by contacting us today or calling us at (888) 633-0360.
