Wrongful death: superbug infection linked to medical device
When a Houston resident goes in to the doctor for a medical procedure they don't expect to emerge with a serious infection. But a new infection has been sweeping the community that has emerged from a medical scope used for a routine procedure.
Two hospitals in the Los Angeles area are linking a medical scope to the cause of a deadly infection among several patients. The endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography or ERCP is a scope that is put down a person's throat to diagnose digestive problems in patients. It's a procedure that is undergone by nearly a half million Americans each year. The deadly infection the patients are suffering from is called carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae or CRE. This serious infection is resistant to most antibiotics and 50 percent of people who get the infection die.
Medical experts believe that the ERCP scope is difficult to clean resulting in the serious infections. Experts believe that other medical facilities across the U.S. may have issues with the scope as well and didn't connect the infection to the scope until it was connected at the hospitals in California.
The unexpected loss of a loved one because of a medical device is an alarming trend in the country. Medical devices are often used in procedures and save thousands of lives each year. But new superbugs are emerging that cause infections that people are not able to recover from. If a family believes their loved one died because of a medical device they may wish to speak with a legal professional skilled in drugs and medical devices to discuss pursuing a wrongful death suit. Compensation may be sought for medical expenses, funeral expenses, pain and suffering and other damages.