Miami Post-Operative Infection Lawyer
A postoperative infection can turn what was expected to be a routine recovery into a serious medical problem. An infection may require antibiotics, hospitalization, drainage, wound treatment, additional procedures, or revision surgery. In severe cases, an infection can spread beyond the surgical site and cause sepsis, organ damage, permanent disability, or other life-changing complications.
Not every infection after surgery means that a healthcare provider committed malpractice. Surgical site infections are a recognized risk of medical treatment, and patients can develop infections even when appropriate precautions and treatment are provided. The important question in a potential medical malpractice case is whether a healthcare provider failed to meet the applicable professional standard of care and whether that failure caused or contributed to the patient’s injury.
At Sotolongo Law, our Miami post-operative infection lawyer represents patients who have been harmed by negligent medical care. Because We Care®, we focus on helping injured patients obtain the medical care, support, and compensation they need after a serious postoperative complication. Our medical malpractice experience allows us to understand both the medical issues involved and the legal requirements for pursuing a claim.
Understanding Postoperative and Surgical Site Infections
A surgical site infection, or SSI, is an infection occurring in the part of the body where surgery took place. The CDC recognizes that these infections can involve the skin, tissue, organs, or implanted material such as a joint replacement. Symptoms can include increasing redness or pain, drainage from the wound, fever, and other signs of infection. Treatment may involve antibiotics and, in some cases, another surgery.
An infection by itself does not establish negligence. Florida law requires a medical malpractice claimant to prove that the healthcare provider breached the prevailing professional standard of care and that the breach proximately caused the injury. Florida law also provides that the existence of a medical injury does not create a presumption of negligence.
Potential Failures Before and During Surgery
Postoperative infection cases can involve decisions and conduct occurring before the patient ever leaves the operating room. Depending on the circumstances, relevant issues may include preparation of the patient and surgical site, infection-control practices, appropriate use of antibiotics when indicated, sterile technique, handling of surgical instruments and materials, and other measures intended to reduce infection risk.
The circumstances of each procedure matter. A patient may have medical conditions or other factors that increase the risk of infection, and healthcare providers must account for relevant circumstances when providing care. The existence of a known risk factor does not automatically excuse negligent care, but it can be important when determining what precautions and monitoring were appropriate.
Potential failures can also occur during a procedure. Problems with sterile technique, contamination, handling of implanted materials, or other infection-control practices may become relevant when medical experts evaluate whether the care met the applicable standard.
The CDC identifies surgical site infections as a type of healthcare-associated infection and maintains guidelines addressing infection prevention in healthcare settings.
Failure to Recognize or Treat an Infection
Some postoperative infection cases arise not because an infection was introduced during surgery, but because a developing infection was not recognized or treated appropriately afterward.
A patient may return with worsening pain, swelling, redness, drainage, fever, or other concerning symptoms. If healthcare personnel fail to recognize significant changes in the patient’s condition, fail to order appropriate testing, fail to communicate important findings, or fail to provide timely treatment, the infection may progress.
The timing can be critical. An infection that could have been treated successfully at an earlier stage may become substantially more serious if diagnosis and treatment are delayed. In severe cases, the patient may require hospitalization, intravenous antibiotics, drainage of an abscess, additional surgery, removal of infected material, or treatment for sepsis.
Postoperative infections can occur in hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, outpatient procedure facilities, and other healthcare environments. The potential defendants and legal theories depend on who provided the care and what went wrong.
Infections Involving Implants and Surgical Hardware
An infection involving implanted material can be particularly difficult to treat. Hip and knee replacements, spinal hardware, plates, screws, breast implants, and other implanted devices can become involved in an infection.
Treatment may require prolonged antibiotics and additional procedures. In some circumstances, infected hardware or an implant may need to be removed or replaced. That can mean another major operation, additional anesthesia, extended rehabilitation, lost time from work, and significant physical and financial consequences.
Determining whether malpractice occurred requires more than showing that an implant became infected. Medical records, cultures, imaging, operative reports, medication records, postoperative assessments, and expert medical opinions may all be relevant to understanding what happened and whether the infection was caused or worsened by a breach of the standard of care.
When a Hospital or Facility May Be Involved
A postoperative infection may raise questions about more than the actions of an individual surgeon. Depending on the circumstances, a hospital or ambulatory surgical center may have responsibilities concerning risk management, staffing, policies, infection-control practices, and the competence and review of medical personnel.
Florida Statute §766.110 provides that health care facilities, including hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers, have duties relating to comprehensive risk management and the competence of their medical staff and personnel, and can be liable for failure to exercise due care in fulfilling those duties.
That does not mean a facility is automatically responsible whenever a patient develops an infection. The facts must establish a legally sufficient basis for liability. Where facility-level failures contributed to a patient’s injury, however, those issues may need to be addressed along with claims involving individual healthcare providers.
Building a Postoperative Infection Malpractice Claim
A potential claim generally requires careful reconstruction of the patient’s medical course. The medical record can show what happened before surgery, during the procedure, and throughout the postoperative period.
Relevant evidence may include preoperative records, consent documentation, nursing notes, medication administration records, operative and anesthesia reports, laboratory results, cultures, imaging, wound assessments, discharge instructions, follow-up records, emergency department records, and records from subsequent treating providers.
The chronology can be especially important. A case may turn on when symptoms first appeared, what healthcare providers knew or should have known, what testing was ordered, what treatment was provided, and how the patient’s condition changed afterward.
Expert medical testimony may also be necessary. Florida’s medical negligence statute requires the claimant to establish a breach of the prevailing professional standard of care and causation. Florida’s presuit requirements also require a claimant to conduct an investigation and provide a verified written medical expert opinion supporting reasonable grounds for the claim before sending the required notice of intent to initiate litigation.
The goal is not simply to establish that an infection occurred. The evidence must connect negligent care to the patient’s injury and support the recovery necessary to address the consequences.
How Postoperative Infections Can Affect a Patient’s Life
The consequences of a serious postoperative infection can extend well beyond the initial treatment. A patient may face additional surgery, extended hospitalization, rehabilitation, home healthcare, prescription and medical expenses, and time away from work.
Some patients experience continuing pain, scarring, loss of function, reduced mobility, or other lasting physical effects. A severe infection may also affect a person’s ability to return to work or participate in ordinary family and daily activities.
A medical malpractice claim may seek compensation for damages supported by the facts and applicable law. Depending on the circumstances, damages can include medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, disability, and other losses resulting from the injury. The nature and extent of recoverable damages depend on the individual case.
Why Medical Knowledge Matters in a Postoperative Infection Case
Medical malpractice litigation requires an understanding of the medicine as well as the law. That is particularly important in infection cases because an infection can result from many different factors, and the medical record may contain highly technical information about the procedure, wound, cultures, medications, laboratory results, and subsequent treatment.
Attorney Pedro P. Sotolongo brings more than 20 years of medical malpractice experience to the representation of injured patients in Miami. He previously defended medical malpractice claims for five years before representing patients, giving him experience on both sides of these cases. That background helps him understand medical records, communicate with physicians and medical experts, and evaluate the medical issues that can determine whether a patient’s care met the applicable standard.
Sotolongo Law also caters to Spanish-speaking clients and families, including members of Miami’s Cuban, Venezuelan, Nicaraguan, Argentinian, and broader Latin American and Hispanic communities.
At Sotolongo Law, we understand that patients dealing with a serious infection need more than a legal case. They may need continuing medical treatment, help understanding what happened, and a path toward financial recovery. Our role is to advocate for the patient while building the case necessary to pursue accountability and compensation.
FAQs About Postoperative Infection Malpractice
Can a surgical infection be considered medical malpractice?
Yes, although an infection alone does not establish malpractice. A claim requires evidence that a healthcare provider breached the applicable professional standard of care and that the breach caused or contributed to the patient’s injury.
What if I needed another surgery because of an infection?
A second surgery can be an important part of the medical consequences of an infection, but it does not by itself prove malpractice. The medical evidence must establish whether the original infection or its progression resulted from negligent care.
Can a hospital be liable for a postoperative infection?
Potentially. Florida law imposes duties on health care facilities concerning risk management and the competence of medical staff and personnel. Whether a hospital or surgical facility can be held liable depends on the facts and the evidence connecting a facility-level failure to the patient’s injury.
How long do I have to bring a postoperative infection malpractice claim in Florida?
Medical malpractice claims are subject to specific statutes of limitation and other timing rules that generally require a lawsuit to be brought within two years, although significant exceptions can apply depending on the circumstances. Because missing a deadline can prevent recovery, a potential claim should be reviewed promptly.
What should I do if I believe my postoperative infection was caused by negligent care?
Continue obtaining appropriate medical treatment first. You should also preserve your medical records and information about subsequent treatment and promptly speak with a medical malpractice attorney who can evaluate the circumstances and applicable deadlines.
Because We Care® — Contact Sotolongo Law
A serious postoperative infection can change the course of your recovery and create medical, financial, and emotional burdens that you never expected. If you believe negligent medical care caused or worsened your infection, Sotolongo Law can help you understand your legal options and pursue the medical care, support, and compensation you need and deserve.
Pedro P. Sotolongo represents injured patients throughout Miami and South Florida. With more than 20 years of medical malpractice experience and a background defending healthcare providers before representing patients, he understands the medical and legal issues that can shape these cases.
Contact Sotolongo Law for a free consultation. You pay no attorney’s fee unless we obtain a recovery for you.