Almost 44,000 patients a year are impacted by healthcare-associated infections (HCAI) in Irish hospitals, according to a report from the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) in May 2024. However, contracting a HCAI does not necessarily give rise to an entitlement to legal action. In order to make a personal injury claim for a HCAI, it must be shown that the negligence of the health care facility led to the infection.
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HCAIs are infections acquired by patients during their stay in a healthcare setting or hospital. They are infections that are in some way related to the patient receiving healthcare and were not pre-existing before the patient attended the healthcare facility. Healthcare-associated infections that are picked up in hospital are also known as ‘hospital-acquired infections’.
While it can be difficult for hospitals and healthcare providers to completely stop bugs from spreading, sometimes inadequate hygiene standards are to blame.
According to the Health Service Executive (HSE) the most common types of HCAI are:
Along with these infections, MRSA is also one of the most common HCAIs in Irish hospitals, especially for people who are seriously ill and spending a lot of time in hospital.
MRSA is usually spread by hands, for example if a person is caring for someone with MRSA and does not wash or dry their hands properly, the MRSA can be passed on. However, it can also be transmitted by touching objects that have been in contact with an MRSA-infected person, or MRSA pneumonia can be spread through contaminated droplets in the air.
For someone to develop an MRSA infection, there must be some way for it to enter the body, for example through a wound, drip or drain. MRSA is not a risk to healthy people in the community. The main risk is to hospital patients, who are severely ill or are having surgery.
As with any type of infection, HCAIs can lead to sepsis, particularly in those who are already at risk, such as those with chronic illnesses or the immunocompromised.
The ECDC estimates that up to fifty percent of HCAIs are preventable through the use of appropriate infection and control measures.
However, proving that a HCAI could have been avoided, and is as a result of negligence on the part of the healthcare provider, can be difficult. A full analysis of infection prevention controls that were in place would need to be undertaken to establish if the healthcare provider was at fault.
The investigation would also need to assess whether the required infection controls that were in place were followed properly.
Even if there is evidence of the procedures not being followed, it would still need to be proven that the patient contracted the HCAI in the healthcare setting, and not in the community, or through faultless exposure.
Therefore, a thorough review of the patient’s medical records, and circumstances leading up to the infection, would be needed to investigate if the infection came from another source.
If you have suffered from a HCAI and believe the infection is a result of negligence from the healthcare provider, contact us to tell us about your case.
Our specialist medical negligence solicitors are highly experienced in healthcare infection claims and will be able to advise you on whether it is possible to make a personal injury claim.
If a case is opened for your HCAI claim, your solicitor will be able to request the relevant reports to provide evidence for your case.
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For more information and a confidential discussion on your medical negligence claim, call Elaine Hickey, Head Medical Negligence Solicitor, on +353 1 649 9900 and tell her about your medical malpractice case or reach out via email to ask@traceysolicitors.ie and she can call you back.
Once you have gathered all the relevant information in relation to your injury it is then time to move forward with your claim. It is important to use a specialist medical negligence solicitor to help you with this.
If you feel that you were not provided with appropriate medical treatment whilst under the care of a medical professional which resulted in injury due to the actions or in-actions of a medical professional, then speaking with a medical negligence solicitor following the injury is imperative. Medical negligence is a complex topic in Irish law. Speak to a medical negligence solicitor when bringing a claim forward. This ensures that no essential steps are missed throughout the legal process. Bringing a claim forward without having spoken to a solicitor can delay your claims procedure. A solicitor can help to determine your medical negligence time limit claim.
In order to make a claim, it must be established and proven that the injury sustained was caused by the medical negligence of the doctor or medical staff tasked with your medical care. Therefore, after having spoken with you about your case, your solicitor will then request access to your medical records. At this stage, the solicitor will have your medical records assessed by an independent medical expert. This will help determine whether a surgeon or medical staff who treated you had, in fact, administered substandard medical care and if negligence was the cause of the injury and if your injuries/outcome could have been avoided if the appropriate level of medical care had been adhered to.
If the independent medical expert has concluded that medical negligence has occurred, then your solicitor will draft a Letter of Claim to the medical practitioner who treated you. A Letter of Claim will outline the nature of your case and invites the medical practitioner to settle your case. The next steps involved are heavily dependent on your case and response to your Letter of Claim and will determine whether your case will be brought to court or settled outside of court. Your solicitor will be on hand every step of the way to guide you through this process.
At Tracey Solicitors LLP, our dedicated medical negligence solicitors have years of experience in helping people deal with traumatic medical injury claims. We understand the injuries, both physically and emotionally, that you have suffered and have supported and helped many people in similar situations proceed with medical negligence claims in Ireland over the past 30 years.
For more information and a confidential discussion on your medical injury claim, phone 01 649 9900 or email ask@traceysolicitors.ie to tell us about your case, where you can speak with a member of our team straight away.
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If you are to proceed with a medical negligence claim you may be entitled to claim compensation for the accident and added expenses, you may have incurred. These claims are called damages.
General damages are non-financial damages such as pain and suffering and/or physical and emotional injuries following a medical negligence injury.
Special damages are out of pocket expenses incurred as a result of the medical negligence injury, for example, loss of earnings (if you are out of work), medical bills, added travel costs as a result of the accident (for example, travel to and from the hospital) and future care costs. Learn more about Special Damages.
The statute of limitations are the legal time limits on how long you have to make a claim, which can vary depending on the situation. When taking into account how long medical negligence claims take, it is important to remember that medical negligence cases require certain time frames in place within which you can bring a claim. For medical negligence claims it is two years less a day following the date of the incident or two years less a day following the date that a person made the connection that their illness or injuries were a result of medical negligence. Contacting a solicitor to discuss your case will help you in determining how long you have left to make a claim.
In an unfortunate incident where a child is subject to medical negligence, the process of making a claim differs from that of an adult. A minor may be in a position to bring a claim forward in the first two years following their 18th birthday.
Learn more about Legal Time LimitsWe draw on more than 35 years of experience in personal injury law to provide you with expert advice and legal services.
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