MRSA Skin Infection Misdiagnosis Lawsuit Filed in Florida
January 13th, 2009 • Filed Under: News • 2 Comments
A Florida medical malpractice lawsuit has been filed against doctors who failed to properly diagnose a man with a MRSA skin infection, which ultimately led to his death.
In the wrongful death lawsuit filed December 29, 2008, the widow of Ronald Carl alleges that doctors at Oak Hill Hospital in Brooksville, Florida, negligently failed to evaluate and treat a boil, which was a virulent staph infection known as MRSA, or Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus.
According to the complaint, Carl presented to the hospital in July with the boil, but was sent home with antibiotics and no culture test was taken to determine the nature of the condition.
When he returned to the hospital a few days later to control his blood sugar, a culture was taken that indicated he had a MRSA infection, but he was not notified and this was not noted in his medical records.
Approximately two months after the hospital failed to properly diagnose the MRSA skin infection, Carl was readmitted to the hospital and there was a 21 hour delay before he was examined and determined to be septic with MRSA. He was placed in the intensive care unit (ICU), but suffered a cardiac arrest hours later and died the following morning.
MRSA skin infections are generally characterized by the appearance of boils on the skin that can develop into an absess. A superficial abscess can often be drained and cultured to identify certain antibiotics that the infection may respond to.
When left untreated or improperly treated, MRSA infections can be potentially life-threatening, impacting the bones, joints, surgical wounds, the bloodstream, heart valves and lungs.
Comment by Patti on 2 February 2009:
Well, here is my dilemema…..
I was seen in my local hospital on November 10, 2008 with a boil on my buttocks, the emergency room doctor told me it was probably an ingrown hair, she lanced it and sent me home on antibiotics. The doctor never mentioned anything to me about it being a staph infection. At the time I did not have a primary care doctor but I did tell the emergency room doctor that I had a future appointment with a new primary doctor scheduled for December 4, 2008, because I just got health insurance through my employer.
I got sick this past weekend, January 26, 2009 with severe bronchitis, fever, chills,and two open wounds that were blisters but erupted on my outer upper thigh and went to see my primary doctor. I established care with my primary doctor on December 4, 2008 and told her of my emergency room visit and she had me sign release to obtain the results of the culture that she said should of been done at the emergency room of my lanced boil.
So upon my January 26, 2009, visit my doctor pulls out of my chart the results from November 10th visit at the ER and tells me that I have MRSA and my new lesions on my thigh are MRSA and I will always have this disease. I am so upset because I feel the hospital who treated me in November and knew this culture was positive for MRSA failed to ever notify me that I was infected with a very contagious disease. I share a restroom with my children and now I am scared to death my kids may also come down with this disease. I also share a public restroom at work with at least 30 fellow employees.
So, I have been infected with MRSA for well over two months not knowing till January 26, 2009.
I think the hospital should of informed me as soon as they had results so I could have taken precautions to prevent spreading this to anyone else. Even though I did not have a primary doctor at the time of my visit, the hospital did my have my home addresss and phone numbers.
Comment by Bob on 30 March 2009:
I was seen in emergency room at local hospital for chest pain and admitted in Jan of this year for observation. One of the nurses putting on an EKG lead without gloves on, scratched my chest barely. I was discharged the next day and a sore erupted at the site of the scratch. I was seen by a nurse practitioner who works with my family doctor at their after hours site and she said it looked like MRSA but did NOT DO A CULTURE and prescribed oral and cream antibiotics. I have photos of the mess that finally went away but not before I was re-admitted to the same hospital for more cardiac monitoring and they refused to treat it or allow me to get the rest of my oral antibiotic or cream rom my car to finish taking/using it. Their doctor tried to tell me it was a scar. Now I have a spot of something on my head and left hip and on my chest again???