Hospital Mistakes
Sometimes referred to as blood poisoning or septicemia, sepsis occurs when your body tries to fight an infection. The potentially deadly condition begins when bacteria enters through a wound or other opening in the skin. You may hear sepsis called a hospital infection because it most commonly threatens very ill hospital patients, the elderly, and nursing home patients who develop bedsores. It may be a problem, too, for infants, individuals who rely on catheters or have artificial joints or other invasive types of medical devices. Because sepsis can rapidly escalate, it’s important to treat it quickly. If you have a condition that affects your immune system and keeps it from fighting infections successfully, then sepsis can become a life-threatening issue.
Houston medical malpractice lawyer Joe Stephens knows how quickly this serious infection can worsen. He’s seen patients experience the painful and difficult symptoms that accompany severe sepsis. As a respected Houston personal injury attorney and wrongful death lawyer, Joe Stephens and his professional staff at the Stephens Law Firm know how to take action to ensure sepsis victims have access to the medical care they need. When serious infections like sepsis progress, you may need specialized medical treatment. Houston injury Attorney Stephens knows how rapidly the expense of such care can rise, leaving you facing both physical and financial challenges.
Sepsis happens because of your own body’s extreme reaction to bacteria that’s entered it. Although your immune system tries to fight the intruder, its heightened response causes more problems, sometimes leading to greater damage than the initial infection might have caused.
The Mayo Clinic explains that doctors use three stages to describe the severity of sepsis. In stage one, your temperature will rise above 101.3˚F or drop below 95˚F. Your heart will beat more quickly – over 90 beats per minute, and you’ll breathe faster at 20-plus respirations per minute. All these signal an infection.
In the second stage, known as severe sepsis, you skin becomes mottled, and breathing will grow more labored. Your body produces less urine, and changes in your blood, heart, and mental abilities take place. In the final stage, you’re said to be in septic shock. Stage two symptoms worsen and blood pressure drops.
At the Stephens Law Firm, Houston injury lawyer Joe Stephens knows that treatment for sepsis is costly, usually beginning with antibiotics delivered intravenously, often in hospital intensive care units where patients can be closely monitored by medical professionals. He knows that infections that have progressed beyond the mild stage may require more aggressive treatment. Although treatment may be successful at the initial stage of the illness, Mayo Clinic research shows that as many as 15% of patients with mild sepsis die. As the condition worsens, the death rate rises. Almost half of patients with later stages of sepsis lose their lives.
If you believe that you or someone you love could be battling sepsis, seek medical care immediately so that your doctor can make a diagnosis and start treatment. Because sepsis may be caused by negligence on the part of health professionals or others involved in your care, contact Houston personal injury and wrongful death lawyer Joe Stephens to ask about your rights.
At the Stephens Law Firm, Joe Stephens is an experienced Houston accident and injury attorney who has the medical and legal resources to investigate your situation and pursue a claim for compensation for you. Attorney Stephens is committed to protecting the rights of injury and accident victims, whether you were harmed because of the negligence of a healthcare provider, hurt in a workplace accident, harmed in a motor vehicle accident, injured by a defective medical device, or any other circumstance, he can help. To put Joe Stephens’ legal skills to work for you or a loved one, contact the Stephens Law Firm to schedule a free consultation. When you’ve been injured or become ill due to someone else’s carelessness or negligence, you need advice you can rely on from an attorney you can trust.
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