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Hospital Infections - Drug Resistant Bacteria

Each year over 1.7 million Americans will get a drug-resistant infection from a hospital and 100,000 of them will die. In the United States, more people die from hospital infections than breast cancer and AIDS combined. Thousands of other victims of hospital infections escape death but are left with serious life altering injuries including paralysis. Disturbingly most of these infections can be prevented through the implementation of stricter sanitary and bacterial testing procedures.  If you or a loved one was diagnosed with a serious infection during or after a hospital stay contact Parker Waichman Alonso, LLP today to have an attorney evaluate your case.

Shocking Hospital Infection Statistics

•    2 million patients get health care associated infections each year
•    100,000 deaths from health care/hospital infections each year
•    $30 billion spent to treat health care/hospital infections each year

Hospital infections are commonly drug resistant and lethal. The bacteria in these infections replicate and mutate so aggressively that even the most potent antibiotics can not kill them. The most common strains of lethal bacteria found in hospital patients are detailed below:

Methicllin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) – This strain of lethal staphylococcus or staph is responsible for approximately 120,00 hospital infections per year. Patients can die within days of being infected.

Psedomonas aeruginosa – This deadly strain of bacteria causes lower respiratory infections. It is responsible for 18% of hospital acquired pneumonia and is incredibly resistant to antibiotics.

Klebsiella pneumoniae – Lethal hospital-borne bug that infects the urinary tract, bloodstream and gut. Reported cases are up 50% in the last five years and there is a 66% mortality rate in untreated patients.

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) – Responsible for 10% of all hospital infections. Bacteria usually infects the blood, urinary tract and wounds. Patients with compromised immune systems are particularly susceptible to infection.

Clostridium difficile – Linked to 400,000 cases of severe diarrhea each year. New mutation of this bacteria produces 20 times the toxin of the old version. Infection is often fatal.

Free Lawsuit Case Consultation
If you or a loved one has suffered from a hospital-borne bacterial infection you may have valuable legal rights. Complete the case evaluation form on the right of this page to have your case immediately evaluated by a qualified attorney. If you prefer to call Parker Waichman Alonso, LLP, you can call 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636) 24 hours per day.

Hospital InfectionsRSS Feed

Midwest States Have Highest Performing Hospitals

Oct 15, 2008 | Parker Waichman Alonso LLP
A new study about hospital performance revealed that if all hospitals performed as well as the best performing facilities, that 237,420 U.S. Medicare deaths could have been prevented in the years between 2005 and 2007.The rankings, which were conducted by HealthGrades, an independent healthcare ratings company, found that the best performing facilities are located in the Midwest.  The new study also found that any given patient experiences a 70 percent lower chance of dying at one of the...

Viral Infection at Stony Brook University Medical Center Prompts Hundreds of Warning Letters

Aug 6, 2008 | Parker Waichman Alonso LLP
Over 400 patients recently treated at the Stony Brook University Medical Center have received a letter of caution from the hospital's director of quality control.  It seems two health care providers who work at the Long Island facility were sickened with a viral illness.A physician, only identified as a medical resident, as well as a nurse both recently came down with a virus named Fifth Disease, which is caused by Human Parvovirus B-19.  The condition's name originates from being the...

NY Hospitals Urged to Adopt Aggressive Anti-Infection Protocols

Jul 9, 2008 | Parker Waichman Alonso LLP
New York’s state Department of Health just a released a report revealing that the rate of hospital infection in surgical intensive care units (ICUs) linked to central line intravenous hookups was 3.7 for each 1,000 days that patients had such a hookup.  The 2007 national rate was 2.7 infections for each 1,000 days, showing that NY patients had a 37% greater chance of infection over the national average.  A central line is a tube into a major vein that allows doctors to...

Antibacterial Wipes May Be Spreading Super Bugs in Hospitals

Jun 4, 2008 | Parker Waichman Alonso LLP
Today, disinfecting wipes and alcohol-based hand gels are widely used in hospitals, schools, and other public settings to kill the germs that cause infectious disease.  And, it is estimated that Americans spend a staggering $1 billion annually on these and other antibacterial products; however, with the rise in deadly antibiotic-resistant superbugs, their direct impact on the spread of infectious disease is not clearly understood.In a study that focused only on the wipes, researchers found...

C. Diff Cases Up by 10,000 Per Year

May 29, 2008 | Parker Waichman Alonso LLP
Last month, we reported that cases of potentially deadly diarrhea-related infections—known as CDAD or Clostridium difficile-associated disease—are seriously and dangerously on the rise, increasing in U.S. hospitals by over 200 percent between 2000 and 2005.   “It is the next major germ threat,” said Betsy McCaughey, the former lieutenant governor of New York state and current head of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths (RID), an agency focused on improving...

More Hospital Infections News

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