A teenage boy is brought into a local ER after accidentally cutting himself on the rocks in a river that the county just declared safe a week ago after a recent e coli contamination.
The ER doc takes an x-ray, stitches him up and sends him home with pain meds. He does NOT prescribe antibiotics, even after being told about the river.
A day and a half later the boy develops a raging infection and has to have emergency surgery to clean out the infection and repair internal damage to the knee. Two days later he has another surgery to have more infection removed.
He tries physical therapy, but develops so much scar tissue he barely makes any progress in 2 months.
He has an out-patient knee manipulation to break up scar tissue. He spends 6 to 8 hours a day on a CPM machine, his knee constantly bending. It does not work.
He wears a splint every night.....and makes a little progress, but not enough.
He ends up having another surgery, where a lot of scar tissue is removed, and it is also discovered that a lot of the cartilage in his knee has been eaten away by the he infection, in some places down to the bone.
The boy is 17 and doctor is very unhappy with this prognosis. Says he will never be a football star or in the military. He will most likely live with chronic pain and swelling.
Should the ER doctor be held liable for not prescribing precautionary antibiotics?
Citicop
I guess that would be for a jury to decide.
But if the county had declared the river safe and the contamination and outbreak over, I would guess that it would not be malpractice not to have prescribed the antibiotics.
But then again, I'm not a lawyer either...
Snarki Tiki
ER doctors are not generally responsible for aftercare. They patch up the problem and send the patient on their way with instructions to follow up with their primary care physician.
Overuse of antibiotics is what has given us lovely pathogens like MRSA and VRE.
teagan
The parents have a responsibility to follow up with the child's Primary Care Physician (PCP) within 1-2 days after being seen in the ED (Emergency Department). If they noted any signs or symptoms of infection they had a responsibility as parents to follow up or call their PCP sooner. There is a lot more involved in the decision making process in the ED then you may think, we are held to standards that are based on standards of practice. I would not prescribed antibiotics unless certain criteria is met.
Quizzard
No. Unless there is some evidence of infection, the use of prophylactic antibiotics is not indicated in most cases. Septic arthritis is not uncommon, and the treatment sounds appropriate. The viscitudes of life, unfortunately. Not everything bad that happens is the fault of doctors.
evilattorney
My guess if that a medical malpractice firm might be interested in such a case. As the consultation is free, it wouldn't hurt to make an appointment with one.
Bella
Medical Malpractice is one of the hardest things to prove. You must be able to prove (without a doubt) that due to the negligence of that doctor, the boy developed the infection. It does sound like you have a case and I would definitely recommend that you speak with a proper medical malpractice attorney. A good one should always offer you a free consult. Best of luck
Orignal From: Medical malpractice for ER doc?
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