We have all heard of the MRSA bug, unfortunately we hear about patients in hospitals catch this virus and ending up a lot more seriously ill than when they were, when first admitted to hospital. The reason we think of it as a hospital bug is because hospitals are the perfect environment for the germ to create a major infection. Because people in hospital often have open wounds and a reduced immune system as well as being in concentrated in areas where they can easily come into contact with other people s microbes.
So what is it? MRSA stands for Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus which is basically a bacteria which is responsible for difficult to treat infections in us humans. The trouble with MRSA is that it is resistant to a large group of antibiotics called the beta lactams antibiotics. These B lactams antibiotics are a broad class of the most widely used antibiotics which include penicillin, cephalosporin, monobactam and carbapenem to name but a few. So in basic terms MRSA is a rather frightening antibiotic resistant bacteria which has been around since the early 60’s. It remained at low levels in the UK until 1992 when it spread and caused health problems including death to countless people.
So if catch the MRSA bug what can be done? Well there are some antibiotics that it does respond to, just not the conventional ones. Some doctors might prescribe Avelox, Teicoplanin or Vancomycin for example. Depending on severity of the bug you might have to be administered intravenously, not orally which means via the blood. This is known as intravenous an (IV) antibiotic which requires the drug to be admitted through an IV tube (catheter). The catheter is inserted using a fluoroscope to help guide its placement. A fluoroscope consists of an x ray source and fluorescent screen between which a patient is placed. Once inserted these special catheters can be used for several months, if needed, so they are inserted only once.
If you have caught MRSA due to a stay in hospital then you are entitled to claim compensation. Claiming compensation for injuries which were caused by someone else is your civil and legal right. Sadly it take unfortunate situations like a medical error of judgement to occur for people in the medical profession to wake up and make changes to their practice to ensure this type of malpractice doesn’t happen again. With medical negligence claims it can be quite a lengthy and complex process. To have the chance of winning a claim for negligence you have to prove that there were serious errors in your medical treatment which no competent doctor would have made. Also you need to prove that the healthcare professional owed a duty to take care of the claimant but this was breached causing personal injury.
Making a claim for medical negligence is not as complicated as people imagine. ‘No win no fee’ agreements were put into place so that anyone with any income can make a claim. Previously it was legal aid which was only given to those on a low income. Now anyone anywhere can make a claim and like the title reads, if you don’t win you don’t pay. If you do win all of your expenses will be recovered from the losing parties insurance. With medical negligence claims there will be a few with regards to obtaining medical records. However these costs and any others will get reimbursed once the claim is successful.
So if you have suffered as a result of medical negligence recently you should find yourself a personal injury specialist as soon as possible. After the initial consultation you will then deal with any issues over the phone or by post. This means you can use any solicitor from anywhere in the country. So if you know of a good lawyer no in your area you shouldn’t be put off using them. If the case needs to go to court then your solicitor will travel down to that and all expenses will get recovered. In any case, many claims do not actually make it to court because insurance companies agree to a settlement beforehand. |
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