Making a Claim for Long-term Impact of Necrotising Fasciitis
The long-term impact of necrotising fasciitis can be completely life-changing. If you are struggling with shocking physical and emotional effects of this horrific infection, it may be appropriate to make a claim for compensation.
The emergency that is necrotising fasciitis
Suffering a necrotising fasciitis infection is not necessarily an indication that the patient is a victim of negligence. A poor long-term outcome is not always a sign that the patient has received substandard treatment. Necrotising fasciitis is a fast-moving tissue-destroying infection and there are times when, despite prompt and efficient medical care, the patient suffers an appalling impact.
However, the severe nature of necrotising fasciitis and the potential for the patient to die or suffer severe disability as a result means that a prompt and accurate diagnosis is essential, as is the rapid initiation of treatment.
If a patient's poor long-term outcome is, in whole or in part, due to a delay in diagnosis and treatment of this terrible illness, a successful compensation claim can help the patient to deal with the many ways in which their life may have been affected.
The impact of necrotising fasciitis
Necrotising fasciitis produces a high mortality rate and a family may lose not only someone very dear to them, but someone upon whom they relied for financial support. If medical failings have contributed to this terrible outcome, it may be appropriate to make a claim for compensation.
Patients who survive a necrotising fasciitis infection are, nonetheless, likely to suffer both physically and psychologically. The loss of one or more limbs or a hand or foot can deprive an individual of their capacity to work. It may impact on their ability to function within their own home and require that they move to more suitable accommodation. They may need external care in order to achieve what were once thought of as simple daily chores.
Patients who suffer necrotising fasciitis in the abdomen or perineum may find that their bowel function has been compromised, requiring a colostomy. Again, such an outcome may affect the type of employment an individual is able to undertake, if they are able to work at all.
A person's general long-term health can be affected as well as their psychological well-being, again affecting their ability to work. The extreme outcomes of a necrotising fasciitis infection may have begun as a simple pressure sore or a cut or a routine surgical procedure. The severity of the physical outcome can be hard to understand and to deal with, emotionally as well as financially.
To find that one is also unable to work or cope independently can be very difficult to come to terms with.
Medical negligence
Due to its ferocity and virulence, it is essential that a patient who is developing necrotising fasciitis receives as prompt a diagnosis as possible. The commencement of treatment, through surgical removal of all infected tissue, needs to occur as soon as possible after diagnosis. In fact, sometimes, a surgical investigation is the only way to confirm a diagnosis.
The possible symptoms of necrotising fasciitis, such as intense pain, redness and swelling in the region of a cut or surgical incision, should prompt a medical practitioner to arrange further investigation as a matter of urgency. This is especially true in the case of a patient who might be considered to be at risk of such infection, such as someone with a weak immune system.
A failure to consider that the patient may be developing necrotising fasciitis, or a failure to recognise the significance of the symptoms at all, may be regarded as negligent.
If the patient subsequently suffers a worse long-term outcome due to the failure to respond promptly to their symptoms, it may be appropriate to make a claim for compensation for their physical and financial losses.
Speak to a solicitor
If you or a loved one are suffering the long-term impact of a necrotising fasciitis infection due to poor medical care, contact Glynns Solicitors to talk to a specialist medical negligence solicitor.
Please call us free on 0800 234 3300 (or from a mobile 01275 334030) or complete our Online Enquiry Form.
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