Failure to Dress Wound Properly & Negligence

Failure to properly dress a wound can constitute medical negligence, leading to complications like infection and increased pain. If the improper dressing results in harm, a case for damages may be pursued to cover costs and suffering. Healthline has an overview to include the different types of wounds.

If a person has diabetes, for example, having a wound on the body can post several risks and a failure to address a wound can pose problems.

In the practice of medical care, the medical professional or hospital owes a duty of care to the patient. Where a junior nurse or trainee is tasked with dressing a wound, for example,  supervision is required to ensure it is done correctly and no problems arise. An improperly treated wound can lead to infections.

In instances of improperly dressed wounds which can give rise to a breach of duty of care are :

• inexperience of the medical professional
• procedure performed by trainee unsupervised
•  using the wrong materials
• not changing the dressings frequently enough
• failing to recognise and treat signs of infection.
• rushing the procedure

Legal Recourse

For a case of medical negligence to be made, the patient must have suffered an injury as a direct result of the procedure and in doing so, suffered pain, discomfort, and/or possibly continuation into the future. Improper wound care can lead to serious infection.

Damages

If the patient experiences damages as a result of the negligent care, such as increased pain, prolonged recovery, or additional treatment costs, they can pursue a claim for compensation. However, the amount of damages will depend on the seriousness of the injury caused and its impact, if any, into the future. These damages are called General Damages. Under another category, called Special Damages, the patient can recover loss of income or the financial loss as a result of the incident.

Proving Negligence

There is much work in a medical negligence case so early assistance of your solicitor is recommended. There is a two-year limitation period to issue proceedings.

Your solicitor must obtain the medical records of the incident, and this can take time. After receiving the medical records, the solicitor will seek to find a medical professional as an expert witness.The expert witness will review the medical records and give an opinion as to whether the expected standard of care was breached and whether the injury the patient suffered as a result was due to the improper dressing of the wound.

The court must be satisfied that (a) the injury resulted from the improper actions of the medical professional (b) the standard of care fell below the expected standards and (c) give their opinion on the future diagnosis of the injury.

We have a set of medical negligence FAQs which can be seen on our homepage.