Who’s Liable for Negligent Post-Operative Care Leading to Spinal Infections?

Spinal surgery is often the last resort for people who suffer from severe back pain, disc herniations, and other spinal conditions. Insurance often won’t even approve surgery until a patient has undergone extensive physical therapy and pain management efforts. When spinal surgery is successful, it can restore mobility and give you your life back. But when spinal surgery leads to spinal infection, it can be devastating.

Post-operative care is a crucial part of surgical treatment, and when it’s neglected, patients may be left grappling with painful and life-threatening infections. Learn more about your options when faced with post-operative infections by calling Harris Lowry Manton LLP to schedule a consultation with our medical malpractice attorneys.

Understanding post-operative negligence in spinal surgery

Post-operative negligence is a general term used to define a care provider’s failure to give patients reasonable post-operative care. The time immediately after surgery is sensitive, and doctors are expected to provide specific care depending on the surgery performed. This includes consistent vital sign monitoring, recognition of the signs of infections, and proper intervention as soon as possible. When a doctor fails to meet the standard of care leading to serious infection, they may have committed medical malpractice.

How does this play out after a spinal surgery? A patient whose surgical site shows signs of infection, such as redness, swelling, and drainage, must receive immediate intervention and medical care. The appropriate use of antibiotics, reasonable efforts to keep the site sterile with proper dressings and wound care, and a prompt medical response to complaints of fever or itching are imperative.

When a patient develops an infection and it spirals out of control due to provider negligence, the provider must be held accountable. Spinal infections can result in symptoms like severe back pain, loss of bowel control, difficulty urinating, and impaired sensation.

Who may be liable in Georgia?

When malpractice happens, you need to know who’s liable. That’s where your medical malpractice attorney can step in. While the surgeon may be the most obvious choice, the fact is that medical care teams have multiple parties that could have been responsible for post-surgical management. They include:

• The surgeon: The operating surgeon is responsible both for the procedure itself and the aftercare instructions that are provided to the patient and care team. If a surgeon does not follow appropriate steps to minimize the risk of infection during surgery, fails to check on how the wound is healing during follow-up visits, or ignores a patient’s reported post-op symptoms, they may ultimately be liable.
• Nurses and hospital staff: While the surgeon is the one who performs the procedure, nurses and other staff involved in a patient’s daily care are usually the first line of defense against infection. They’re the ones who should notice a climbing temperature, a red or itchy wound site, and patient reports of discomfort. Furthermore, they are expected to maintain a sterile environment to promote proper wound healing. Should they fail to meet a reasonable standard of care, they could be held responsible for subsequent infections.
• Hospitals and surgical centers: Hospitals as entities are responsible for creating and enforcing strict infection control policies. If they fail to do so by running on a skeleton staff, not providing appropriate training to new staff members, or not keeping a clean and sanitary environment, they may be at fault when patients become ill. Additionally, if a party responsible for the infection is employed by the hospital, the hospital is typically liable for their actions under respondeat superior, and in some cases, hospitals may also be liable for non-employees or for their own negligent policies or practices.
• Third-party service providers: When patients are sent to long-term care facilities or receive care at home via home health agencies, those entities may be responsible if a wound becomes infected.

How liability is determined

To start, it’s important to note that not every infection is malpractice. Sometimes, care providers and facilities can take every reasonable step possible, and a patient’s wound site still becomes infected. When this happens, it is devastating and often painful for the patient, but it doesn’t mean that malpractice occurred.

However, if a spinal infection is the result of negligence, your spinal injury lawyer may use a variety of tools to pinpoint liability. They will likely review your medical records in detail, looking for gaps, errors, or logs that were later falsified. They will also rely on expert witnesses who can point to the cause of the infection and where the gap in care occurred. Your lawyer may help identify all responsible parties, but in Georgia, the jury ultimately determines how fault and damages are apportioned among them.

The role of medical experts

In Georgia, as is the case in many states, a medical malpractice complaint requires an affidavit from an expert. The affidavit must lay out at least one negligent act or omission, as well as the factual basis for each negligent act, per Georgia Code § 9-11-9.1. Beyond the initial filing requirement, your attorney may lean on medical experts to define the standard of care for the surgery you had, determine where the standard of care deviated from what your care provider did, and link the infection to negligent actions. A strong expert witness can also outline how such an infection can affect your health and mobility long-term.

Why are these cases so complex?

Spinal infection cases are rarely simple and straightforward. Typically, there are multiple providers involved in a patient’s care, and any or all may be partially liable for an infection. Some infections develop slowly, making it difficult to determine whether an infection is the result of negligence or an unavoidable outcome. Surgery is also inherently risky, so even with proper care, infection can happen—a point that defense attorneys will lean on heavily.

Get medical malpractice support with Harris Lowry Manton LLP

At Harris Lowry Manton LLP, we understand how medical malpractice can leave you in pain, struggling with daily tasks, and facing a permanently decreased quality of life. Let’s talk now. Call us today or get in touch with us online now.