Knowledgeable and Experienced Guidance

Family claims ER staff botched daughter’s treatment

On Behalf of | Apr 27, 2018 | Medical Malpractice |

When medical malpractice lawsuits are filed in Greenville, a phrase that many who follow them may hear repeated throughout is “standard of care.” A standard of care are the generally accepted treatment protocols assigned to different injury and illness scenarios in healthcare. They are often referred to when examining an individual’s treatment to see if they were followed, and if not, what clinical indicators may have prompted the providers involved to go away from them. If no apparent reasons exist as to why a provider did not follow the accepted standard of care, and a patient suffered as a result of it, said patient may have just cause to level an accusation of negligence.

Such is the claim being made by a family in Texas after one of its own was treated at a local standalone emergency room. A young girl sustained a deep laceration on her foot jumping into the water at a local lake. During her initial treatment, the cut was irrigated and closed with sutures, despite the doctor noting that it appeared to be contaminated. She was also sent home without any antibiotics. Subsequent opinions and research revealed that the standard of care would not have been to close the wound initially, as doing so could promote infection (it also showed that the girl should have been given antibiotics). Indeed, the following day the girls developed a fever, and subsequently had to have several surgeries to address the infected wound and save her leg from amputation.

People may understand that doctors are subject to errors in judgment. Yet a disregard for proven industry standards may be viewed as being unacceptable. Those who want to hold providers responsible when standard of care deviations are identified may want to seek the advice or a personal injury attorney.

Source: Times Record News “Former Wichita Falls emergency room facing malpractice, breach of lease lawsuits” Johnston, Patrick, Apr. 09, 2018