One of the most common forms of medical malpractice that I see here in Mississippi is from “needle sticks.” This sounds benign, but the negligent pricking or cutting of a patient can lead to serious infections and disease. Those are serious consequences, and that consequence is compounded when a person loses their livelihood and lifestyle as a result of a needle stick. Even worse, needle sticks are commonly the result of avoidable malpractice.
Needle Sticks
According to the Centers for Disease Control, or CDC, there is a tremendous needle stick problem in the United States:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 385,000 sharps-related injuries occur annually among health care workers in hospitals…It has been estimated about half or more of sharps injuries go unreported. Most reported sharps injuries involve nursing staff, but laboratory staff, physicians, housekeepers, and other health care workers are also injured.
A sharps injury is a penetrating stab wound from a needle, scalpel, or other sharp object that may result in exposure to blood or other body fluids. Sharps injuries are typically the result of using dangerous equipment in a fast-paced, stressful, and understaffed environment. These strenuous demands often produce feelings of fatigue, frustration, and occasionally anger. In the operating room, for example, health care personnel do not have the luxury of “taking a break,” but must continue with their duties until the procedure is completed. These conditions can increase the risk of injury and infection for health care workers.
Health care workers may also incur injuries from improper procedures, such as passing sharps hand-to-hand between team members, placing sharps in a disposal container, or failing to use a safer sharps device. A report from the Exposure Prevention Information Network (EPINet) found that nearly half of all sharps injuries occurred during use of the sharp, and of the nearly 40% of needle injuries which involved a safety designed needle, the majority occurred before activating the safety device. Moreover, the report also showed that many sharps injuries occurred in patient rooms among nurses and operating rooms among surgical team members.
As I said above, the consequences of needle sticks can be extreme. Common consequences are Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Herpes, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Syphilis, Maralaria, Typhus, Spotted Fever, and many more. That is a list of potentially life-threatening infections.
What is Negligence?
Believe it or not, accidents do happen in the medical environment. You are not due a settlement simply because you were stuck with a needle at the wrong time. However, there is a difference between something accidentally or unavoidably occurring during a medical procedure and negligence. You cannot recover damages based simply on an unfortunate, unavoidable occurrence, but you may be able to recover a tremendous settlement once negligence is established. But how is medical negligence different from an accident?
Negligence means that a health care professional or health care-associated establishment fails to provide care in line with the generally accepted standards, and the individual is injured as a result. To establish negligence based on a needle stick you will have to show: a) you were under the care of a medical professional; b) the medical professional failed to meet the “standard of care” for the handling of needles or for a safe workplace; and c) you were injured as a result of that failure.
What Does the “Standard of Care” Mean?
Simply put, malpractice occurs when the patient’s medical care does not meet current medical standards. This failure may be due to a physician or medical provider not staying current with their training, a failure to perform the correct procedure at the right time, a failure to adequately supervise or train nurses and other support staff, or poor sanitation within the medical environment.
Needle prick injuries can be caused by a number of different factors. Poor medical facility sanitation, lack of staff training, overworked staff, improperly administered protocols, and poor record-keeping. Each of these areas has an associated standard care that medical professionals must meet.
What Should You Do if You Were Stuck by a Needle at Work?
I sometimes speak with Mississippi clients who have received an offer to settle their case after a needle stick causes a dangerous infection; they are sometimes offered a quick settlement in exchange for your agreement not to pursue a legal challenge. Do not accept these “low-ball” offers, as tempting as they may be at the time.
Instead, contact an experienced personal injury attorney immediately. Let experienced personal injury counsel take care of preserving medical records, dealing with aggressive opposing counsel, attaining expert diagnoses, and dealing with insurance companies. These are important tasks that an only a personal injury attorney can handle for you. If they are handled poorly by an attorney without numerous personal injury cases under his or her belt, they may be done ineffectively, costing you a tremendous amount of compensation.
Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury that you believe is due to medical malpractice.
Barrett Law has the experience to take on defense attorneys and insurance companies that are focused on denying your compensation for your injuries. Contact us now at (800) 707-9577.
