When sepsis is not recognized or treated quickly enough, the consequences can be devastating. A patient who entered a hospital or emergency room with an infection may suddenly face organ failure, permanent disability, amputation, brain injury or the loss of their life.
Sometimes these outcomes cannot be prevented. In other cases, important warning signs were missed, treatment was delayed, a patient was discharged too soon, or a deteriorating condition was not properly monitored.
If you or someone you love suffered a serious injury after sepsis or septic shock and you have questions about the medical care that was provided, Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP can help you understand what happened.
Our medical malpractice lawyer team represents patients and families affected by serious medical negligence throughout Ontario. We investigate complex medical cases with the assistance of appropriate medical experts to determine whether the care provided met the required standard and whether earlier or different treatment could have changed the outcome.
When Can Sepsis Become Medical Malpractice?
Developing sepsis does not automatically mean that medical malpractice occurred.
Sepsis can develop even when doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals provide appropriate care. The important legal questions are whether the healthcare providers involved met the applicable standard of care and, if they did not, whether that failure caused or contributed to the patient’s injuries.
A sepsis medical malpractice claim may require investigation when there are concerns about:
- Delayed diagnosis of an infection
- Failure to recognize signs that a patient was deteriorating
- Failure to order appropriate diagnostic testing
- Abnormal vital signs or laboratory results that were not properly investigated
- Delays in administering necessary treatment
- Inadequate monitoring or reassessment
- Premature discharge from an emergency department or hospital
- Failure to escalate care when a patient’s condition worsened
- Delayed consultation with specialists
- Delayed transfer to an intensive care unit
- Post-operative infections that were not identified or treated appropriately
- Maternal or newborn infections that were not recognized or treated
Medical malpractice cases are highly fact-specific. An unexpected outcome alone does not establish negligence.
If there is a concern that medical care contributed to a catastrophic outcome, an experienced medical malpractice lawyer can review the circumstances and help determine whether further investigation is warranted.
What Are Sepsis and Septic Shock?
Sepsis is a life-threatening response to an infection. It can begin with an infection affecting the lungs, urinary tract, abdomen, skin, surgical site or another part of the body.
As the condition progresses, the body’s response to the infection can affect organs and other critical systems.
Septic shock is an especially severe progression of sepsis. It can involve dangerously low blood pressure and serious organ dysfunction and may require intensive care and other urgent treatment.
For patients and families, the progression can seem frighteningly fast. Someone who appeared to have an infection or flu-like illness may deteriorate significantly within a relatively short period.
That is one reason the timing of diagnosis, monitoring and treatment can become so important when investigating a potential sepsis medical malpractice claim.
Where Can Sepsis-Related Medical Negligence Occur?
A potential sepsis claim does not necessarily begin in an intensive care unit.
The events leading to serious injury may have started hours or days earlier.
Emergency Rooms
A patient may arrive at an emergency department with fever, pain, weakness, confusion, abnormal blood pressure, breathing problems or other signs of infection.
Questions may arise when symptoms or test results are not properly investigated, a patient’s condition is not reassessed, or the patient is discharged despite evidence that further observation or treatment may have been required.
Hospitals and Intensive Care Units
Hospitalized patients can develop infections or experience a worsening infection while under medical supervision.
Medical records may need to be reviewed to determine whether nurses and physicians appropriately monitored changes in the patient’s condition and whether care was escalated when necessary.
After Surgery
Infections can occur following surgery.
A potential medical malpractice claim may arise if signs of a serious post-operative infection were not identified, investigated or treated appropriately and the infection progressed to sepsis or septic shock.
Family Doctors and Walk-In Clinics
Some patients seek medical attention more than once before sepsis is ultimately diagnosed.
When this occurs, it may be necessary to determine whether the symptoms presented during earlier visits should have prompted additional testing, referral to hospital or another course of treatment.
Long-Term and Other Healthcare Settings
Sepsis can also develop in patients receiving care in long-term care facilities or other medical environments.
The circumstances surrounding the infection, recognition of symptoms, monitoring and response may all require investigation.
Failure to Diagnose or Treat an Infection
One of the most important parts of a sepsis malpractice investigation is reconstructing what happened before the patient’s condition became critical.
That may involve determining:
- What symptoms were reported?
- What were the patient’s vital signs?
- What tests were ordered?
- When were laboratory or imaging results available?
- Who reviewed those results?
- How did the patient’s condition change?
- Was the patient reassessed?
- When was treatment started?
- Should another physician, specialist or critical care team have been contacted earlier?
The answer is rarely found in a single medical note.
HSH can obtain and review relevant medical records and work with independent medical experts where appropriate to examine the complete sequence of events.
Sepsis During Pregnancy, Labour or After Birth
Sepsis can be particularly devastating when an infection affects a pregnant patient or newborn.
Maternal infections, infections during labour and newborn infections can sometimes progress rapidly and can place both mother and child at serious risk.
When an infection involving pregnancy or a newborn results in serious injury, questions may arise about whether symptoms were recognized, appropriate testing was completed, fetal or newborn health was adequately monitored, or necessary treatment was provided in time.
HSH has extensive experience representing families affected by serious obstetrical and neonatal medical negligence. Our birth injury lawyer team can investigate cases involving preventable harm to babies and their families, including cases involving serious newborn infections and related complications.
What Injuries Can Result From Severe Sepsis or Septic Shock?
Surviving sepsis does not always mean returning to the life a person had before becoming ill.
Severe cases can result in significant and sometimes permanent consequences, including:
- Organ damage or organ failure
- Amputation or limb loss
- Brain injury caused by inadequate oxygen or blood flow
- Neurological impairment
- Mobility limitations
- Extended hospitalization or intensive care
- Ongoing rehabilitation
- Loss of independence
- Inability to return to work
- Significant psychological effects
- Need for future attendant or personal care
- Death
HSH’s practice focuses on serious and catastrophic injuries. Our personal injury lawyer team understands that the real impact of an injury extends beyond a diagnosis. A life-changing medical injury can affect employment, independence, relationships, caregiving responsibilities and the long-term financial security of an entire family.
How HSH Investigates a Sepsis Medical Malpractice Claim
Medical malpractice litigation involving sepsis can be medically and legally complex.
A proper investigation may involve several stages.
1. Understanding What Happened
We begin by listening to you.
Families often know important details that may not be immediately obvious from a medical chart, including when symptoms began, what concerns were raised and how a patient’s condition changed.
2. Obtaining Medical Records
Depending on the case, relevant records could include emergency department records, physician notes, nursing records, vital-sign observations, laboratory results, imaging, medication records, surgical records, consultation reports and intensive-care documentation.
3. Building the Medical Timeline
The sequence of events can be critical.
We examine when symptoms appeared, when tests were ordered and reviewed, when treatment began, how the patient responded and when additional medical intervention occurred.
4. Consulting Medical Experts
Medical malpractice claims generally require expert medical evidence.
Where appropriate, HSH works with qualified independent medical professionals to assess whether the treatment met the applicable standard of care.
5. Examining Causation
Showing that something should have been done differently is only part of a medical malpractice case.
It must also be determined whether the alleged failure caused or materially contributed to the patient’s injury.
That can be one of the most complicated issues in a sepsis claim.
6. Understanding the Long-Term Impact
For survivors with permanent injuries, we look beyond what happened in the hospital.
Future medical care, rehabilitation, income loss, attendant care, accessibility needs and the effect of the injury on the patient’s family may all need to be considered.
What Compensation May Be Available After Sepsis Medical Malpractice?
Every case is different.
When medical negligence causes serious injury, a claim may seek compensation for losses associated with the injury, including, where applicable:
- Medical and rehabilitation expenses
- Future care requirements
- Attendant and personal care
- Lost income and loss of future earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Home or accessibility requirements
- Other expenses resulting from the injury
When medical negligence results in death, certain family members may also have legal rights arising from their loss.
Determining the potential value of a medical malpractice claim requires a careful assessment of the evidence and the effect the injury is expected to have over the patient’s lifetime.
Do I Have a Sepsis Medical Malpractice Case?
You may not know.
And you should not be expected to determine that on your own.
Patients and families rarely have access to all of the information required to understand why a medical outcome occurred. What initially appears to be an unavoidable medical emergency may require a closer review of the decisions and events that preceded it.
Conversely, a devastating outcome does not necessarily mean that negligence occurred.
The purpose of an initial legal assessment is to begin answering those questions.
You should consider speaking with HSH if you or a loved one experienced sepsis or septic shock and:
- There was a significant delay before the infection was diagnosed
- Medical attention was sought repeatedly before the condition was recognized
- You were discharged shortly before becoming critically ill
- Abnormal results or symptoms appear to have been overlooked
- A condition deteriorated while the patient was hospitalized
- Treatment or specialist involvement appeared to be delayed
- Sepsis developed after surgery
- A newborn developed a serious infection
- The patient suffered permanent disability, organ damage, amputation or another catastrophic injury
- A family member died following sepsis or septic shock
Contacting a lawyer does not mean that medical negligence occurred or that a lawsuit must be started. It can help you determine whether there are grounds to investigate further.
Why Choose HSH for a Sepsis or Septic Shock Claim?
Medical malpractice cases demand an understanding of both complex medicine and complex litigation.
Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP represents people who have suffered serious and catastrophic injuries. Our medical malpractice team has experience investigating cases involving hospitals, physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals.
We understand that people contacting us after a catastrophic medical event are often looking for more than a lawsuit.
They want to understand what happened.
They want to know whether it could have been prevented.
And they want to know how they are going to take care of themselves or someone they love in the years ahead.
Our job is to listen, investigate the evidence, explain your options clearly and advocate for you when the evidence supports a claim.
Hope Starts Here.
Speak With an Ontario Sepsis & Septic Shock Lawyer
When a medical emergency changes your life or the life of someone you love, answers matter.
If you believe delayed diagnosis, inadequate monitoring or delayed treatment of an infection contributed to sepsis, septic shock, catastrophic injury or death, talk to the medical malpractice team at Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP.
We will listen to what happened, help you understand your legal options and determine whether the circumstances warrant further investigation.
