Compensation for Death due to Pseudomonas Aeruginosa - € 900,000

Compensatory damages, however in a record size, are not an actual compensation for relatives to rest from the loss of their loved one due to an infection contracted while he was hospitalized in a public hospital.

Mr. L. underwent cardiology surgery a few years ago since valves of his heart had stopped working properly as a consequence both of ageing and of a birth condition.

His heart weakness has ever prevented him from dedicating himself to daily activities. L., in his seventies, enjoys good health and since retiring he took up his free time with his grandchildren and took care of the vegetable garden that gave him so much satisfaction.

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa after Aortic Valve Replacement Surgery

Accompanied by his wife and children to the Hospital, L. willingly undergoes aortic valve replacement surgery.

Unfortunately, a flaw in the execution of the protocols adopted for the prevention of hospital infections, makes Mr. L. sick with an infection due to the bacterium Pseudomonas Aeruginosa.

This type of bacteria is particularly dangerous for patients who undergo cardiological care because the first organ that is affected is precisely the heart.

Inaccurate sterilization of the instrumentation used in surgical or post-operative environments can result in the passage of the bacterium into the human organism which does not benefit from the administration of antibiotics since the bacterium takes advantage of the reduction of other microbes to proliferate. It has even been isolated in disinfectants because it prefers humid environments.

L.'s organism, being already debilitated by heart surgery, is even more affected by the consequences of the bacterium, which produces toxins that can damage the kidneys and involves serious vascular complications.

As much as he underwent emergency treatment in the same facility where he had been operated on, L. is forced to face the transfer to the nearby county Marche hospital, where they try to practice antibiotic therapy, unfortunately not only inefficient but even dangerous, because it had further weakened the immune defenses of  the patient.

A consultation with Roman specialists, makes it identify the only viable solution in the replacement of the newly implanted prosthetic valve and for this reason from the Marche L. moves to Rome.

Surgeons in the capital try to save his life with this latest emergency operation, but L.'s physique does not hold up, because the kidneys and heart are now hopelessly damaged.

Compensation for Death due to Hospital-Acquired Infection

In addition to the loss of the relative, L.'s family members are deeply dejected for all the invasive and unnecessary care to which the relative has been subjected. If they had immediately figured out how to counteract the toxic effects of the bacterium, perhaps it would have been enough to replace the heart prosthesis with another one that was not infected and L. would now live.

Certainly, the decision to administer antibiotics for a long time has further lengthened the physical and moral heart of the family, as well as the continuous transfers from one department to another, from one region to another.

All his sons’ lives have been affected and bewildered by that swing of hope and disappointment that ended with the most inausgiver outcome icover.

The responsibility of doctors, for family members, is obvious. Even L. realized that things were far from being well and regular and that the cause of his very serious physical state was due to an infection.

For family members, the only way to do justice to the father and husband is to ascertain the guilt of doctors.

Medical Malpractice Compensation Lawyer Rome

As a coincidence one of the best-known lawyers specialized in medical malpractice operates in Rome and has dozens of brilliantly resolved cases to itscredit.

They address him without further delay, explaining all the long and painful process that their beloved was forced to live.

The Abruzzo Hospital defends itself. He claims that the patient was treated by two other facilities and that although he contracted the infection with them, it is not said that death cannot be attributed to the wrong treatment that has been practiced in the other hospital.

Antibiotic therapy and valve replacement surgery, now late, were choices made by other hospitals and may have resulted in the death of the patient who, although ill, could have saved himself if he had been properly treated.

The insurance intervenes to offer compensation

From the moment the judicial procedure for obtaining damages is activated, it can be many years before the final decision is made. Reports on the body should be carried out, medical records examined, the results of the counter-examinations disputed and retorted.

For family members this can represent a resurgence of pain, which is often decided not to endure. For this reason, it is sometimes more useful to shorten the time, perhaps by giving up a larger sum, reaching an agreement.

When hospitals are notified of a case of medical malpractice, which is likely to be justified, they immediately open the case with the insurance company, which allocates a sum to be used in compensation (almost one million euros).

As to the case of compensation for Mr L.'s death, the family members agree in the course of the proceedings to receive from the insurance company a sum that borders on the million euros, since there have been many sufferings suffered by their spouse.

The Ministerial Circular of 1985

Nosocomial infections are one of the most feared causes of death in hospitals. A phenomenon that involves hospitals all over the world and that in Italy was attempted to stem with the issue of an ad hoc Ministerial Circular in 1985.

The tasks of the Committees for the fight against Hospital Infections were defined, created specifically to conceive protocols and prophylaxis to be applied, but so far there is no homogeneous strategy capable of effectively combating the spread of infections.