Delayed Debridement and Fournier's Gangrene Compensation
Any suspicion that a patient is developing fournier's gangrene should trigger further specialist investigation and may justify emergency debridement surgery.
Fournier's gangrene impact
Necrotising fasciitis and fournier's gangrene can be difficult to diagnose definitively without surgical investigation. A delay in referring a patient or in requesting a second opinion may allow this horrific infection to spread, threatening the patient's quality of life, their sexual function and even their life.
Fournier's gangrene is a specific form of a necrotising fasciitis infection. However, antibiotics are not sufficient to resolve this appalling and destructive illness. Surgical removal (debridement) of all infected tissue is essential to eradicate the infection in the patient's body.
A necrotising fasciitis infection can spread rapidly though the patient's body, causing the decay of all the tissue it infects. The sooner the infection is diagnosed and treated, the better the long-term outcome for the patient will be. The opposite is also true, that the later diagnosis is achieved and the later debridement is initiated, the worse the patient's outcome is likely to be.
Where medical professionals have caused or allowed a delay to occur, leaving the patient with the appalling impact of this shocking infection, it may be possible to make a claim for compensation.
Competent medical care
Medical professionals need to ensure the following quality of care:
- That any signs or symptoms are investigated – this may include intense pain, swelling, redness or discolouration and tenderness. The patient may also exhibit a portal of entry for bacteria such as an abscess or wound around the genital, perineal or perianal region
- Surgical debridement is commenced as a matter of emergency to minimise the impact of the infection and minimise the degree of deformity, disability and reconstructive surgery required by the patient
Claiming compensation
If a patient suffers a poor outcome following negligent medical care, they are entitled by law to make a claim for compensation. Where the impact of the negligence has caused the patient to suffer financial losses such as a loss of income, such losses would be included in a successful claim.
The impact of fournier's gangrene can be utterly devastating, affecting a patient both physically and psychologically, damaging their confidence, their general well-being and their quality of life.
A claim for compensation may be a helpful way forward to achieve a sense of justice done and to recover compensation for the impact on the individual's life.
Speak to a specialist
Glynns Solicitors is a dedicated medical negligence legal practice with extensive expertise in necrotising fasciitis compensation. Contact us today to discuss your situation with a specialist solicitor, free of charge.
Please call us free on 0800 234 3300 (or from a mobile 01275 334030) or complete our Online Enquiry Form.
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