Texas Medical Malpractice Attorney: Hospital-Acquired Infections

This month, we covered the story of John Harrison, a Mission man who filed a Texas medical malpractice lawsuit against Methodist Hospital and a surgical instrument company after his shoulder became infected after a simple surgery. He won the suit against the Houston hospital, but has endured years of corrective surgeries and pain.
Just how big of a problem are infections after surgery, and how can you know whether or not your post-operation infection is a sign of a medical error? Even medical safety experts are not sure how far-reaching the issue is.
Here are just a few examples of how a preventable infection can occur during a surgery:

• The hospital where the surgery takes place does not properly clean its surgical tools.
• The hospital cleans surgical tools that are not meant for re-use.
• The surgeon does not properly scrub before the operation.
• The manufacturer of the surgical tool does not provide the proper cleaning instructions with its surgical tools.
• There is a design flaw in the surgical tool that prevents it from being properly cleaned.
• There is a design flaw in the machine used to clean the surgical tools.

Keeping surgical tools clean in recent years has been increasingly difficult – modern medicine and minimally invasive surgeries means high-tech tools in the operating room that can be extremely difficult to clean effectively. At the same time, large hospitals are cleaning up to 40,000 surgical instruments each day – each of which must go through a specific process that everyone agrees is far from perfect. Those in charge of the process face low wages, poor conditions, and a demanding job.
Dirty surgical instruments can lead to life-threatening infections, hepatitis infections, HIV infections, and other potentially fatal complications.
Do you believe that you have suffered a harmful infection due to a dirty surgical instrument? Speak to a Texas medical malpractice attorney today about your case. The medical error lawyers at Rasansky Law Firm can help you understand your case, as well as your best course of action. Call today to schedule a private, no-obligation consultation.