My wife had a minor surgery several weeks ago, but she developed an infection that nearly cost her life. Can I sue the hospital for malpractice?
If your wife’s infection occurred during her surgery and there were no surgical mistakes that increased the risk of infection, then generally, the answer is no, your wife cannot sue. Infection following a surgery is considered a foreseeable risk of most procedures, and thus, your wife would have no case.
However, if the surgeon left something in your wife to cause her infection, like a surgical sponge, then the hospital and doctor would be liable under a legal theory named res ipsa loquitor. Basically res ipsa loquitor holds people accountable for (1) actions that do not ordinarily occur in the absence of negligence (2) actions that are in the total control of the surgeon and hospital, and (3) for actions not due to any conduct of the injured party. Obviously, your wife was under anesthesia so she had nothing to do with anything involving the surgery. The surgeon and hospital were in complete control during the operation. Finally, leaving surgical tools, like a sponge, inside a patient would be considered negligent.
If the doctor leaves a surgical sponge inside the patient, a jury can infer negligence against the doctor and hospital without expert testimony and award damages to the plaintiff in a court case. But each case can be different and more details of the surgery would be necessary to give a better answer.
