Hospital-Acquired Infections

When we are admitted to a hospital for treatment, we expect for the health care workers there to hold our safety as their top priority. Standards should be set in place regarding treatment of patients, sanitation, attentiveness and hospitality. When one of these institutions falls short of what is expected of it, all of its patients are put at risk.

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), also known as nosocomial infections, result from poor sanitation and treatment practices at a hospital center. Hospital patients are already in an immunocompromised state, so any exposure they have to outside illnesses or diseases infecting other patients of the facility can cause them to develop an aggressive secondary condition.

Causes of Hospital-Acquired Infections

If nurses, physicians, caretakers and staff members fail to follow the correct sanitation protocol, or if there is no protocol in place at all, then patients run a much higher risk of developing an HAI. HAIs can be spread from patient to patient through direct and indirect contact, or as airborne diseases:

• Direct Contact Transmission: Direct body-to-body exchange of the illness-causing microbes
• Indirect Contact Transmission: Transmission through intermediate items touched or breathed on by the infected patient
• Airborne Transmission: Infection-causing particles, suspended in the air after leaving an infected individual, are transferred to the new victim through inhalation

The most common nosocomial infections include urinary tract infections, skin infections, infections resulting from poor suturing or unsanitary surgeries, and respiratory illnesses.

Contact Us

If you have been a victim of a hospital-acquired infection or have suffered from any form of medical malpractice, then the Washington medical malpractice lawyers of Fuller & Fuller can help. Contact us today at 1-800-570-4878 to schedule a consultation with one of our experienced attorneys.