Florida Failure or Delay in Diagnosis of Sepsis Attorneys

Failure or delay in the diagnosis of sepsis is one of the many types of medical malpractice claims our attorneys handle. Schedule your free case evaluation with one of our experienced attorneys today. We will help you explore your rights after a sepsis-related incident.

Signs and Symptoms of Sepsis

Sepsis describes the presence of bacteria and toxins in the tissues, typically due to infection. Post-operative infections are some of the most common causes of sepsis in patients. Other causes include wound infections, pneumonia, abdominal/kidney infections, or bloodstream infections. Most types of infections can turn into sepsis if left untreated. Sepsis occurs when the body’s normal response to an infection triggers an inflammatory response, causing changes and damages to organs. Signs and symptoms of sepsis can include:

• Abnormally high or low body temperature
• Rapid heart rate (faster than 90 beats per minute)
• Rapid breathing (faster than 20 breaths per minute)
• Difficulty breathing
• Decrease in amount of urine
• Abnormal heart palpitations
• Reduced platelet count
• Abdominal pain
• Change in mental state

Sepsis is more common in the elderly and those with weakened immune systems, as well as those who are already sick, in intensive care units, those with invasive medical devices such as breathing tubes, and those with wounds or injuries. Prompt detection of sepsis is critical to treat it before it progresses into severe sepsis or septic shock. Failure to diagnose sepsis could eventually cause loss of blood flow to vital organs, organ failure, gangrene, amputation of limbs, surgeries, or even death.

How to Tell If You Have a Medical Malpractice Claim in Florida

Sepsis is treatable, with most patients making full recoveries. Unfortunately, a delay in diagnosing sepsis can significantly increase the risk of serious complications and death. A patient may have the ability to file a claim against a doctor and/or healthcare facility for a delay in diagnosing sepsis if the defendant reasonably should have made the diagnosis in time to prevent the patient’s alleged harm. This might be the case if another reasonable and prudent physician would have assessed the symptoms and conducted medical exams to catch sepsis earlier.

Post-operative medical care usually prevents infections and sepsis from occurring in the first place. When nurses negligently fail to properly care for patients, don’t clean and/or dress wounds, don’t maintain sanitary premises, infections can happen. Major infections and related complications like sepsis therefore point to multiple acts of medical malpractice, starting with the failure to prevent infection after surgery. It takes a skilled legal team to investigate a potential sepsis related claim and identify signs or evidence of medical malpractice.

At Freedland Harwin Valori, PL our experienced attorneys have learned to recognize the signs of medical malpractice. We work closely with reputable medical industry professionals and investigators to gather evidence and create a case against the allegedly at-fault medical care provider. If you think you could benefit from our help during a sepsis related claim in Florida, give us a call. We offer free consultations.