Delaware’s Injury & Medical Malpractice Leaders

Post-sepsis syndrome could change your life forever

On Behalf of | Nov 29, 2019 | Firm News

If you recently suffered from a hospital-acquired infection, it may have taken doctors too long to diagnose it. As the infection worsened, your body began attacking itself. By the time doctors discovered something was wrong, you required aggressive treatment for sepsis.

You may have spent a few days in the ICU, but eventually, doctors allowed you to return home. Considering the life-threatening nature of sepsis, you may have felt lucky that you didn’t get any worse and hope you can get on with your life. The problem is that you could suffer from post-sepsis syndrome, which causes lifelong issues.

How would you know if you suffer from post-sepsis syndrome?

Is you suffered from sepsis, your chances of experiencing post-sepsis syndrome are 50/50. Half of all people who survive this condition experience one or more of the following symptoms of PSS:

  • Panic attacks
  • Depression
  • Sleeping difficulties, including trouble falling asleep and/or staying asleep
  • Loss of self-esteem
  • Nightmares
  • Decreased mental function
  • Hallucinations
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Disabling joint and/or muscle pain
  • Organ damage
  • Disabling fatigue
  • Hair loss

Depending on whether you experienced poor blood circulation or blood clots during your bout of sepsis, you could require an amputation in order to increase your survivability. Obviously, this will have an effect on your life. This is an example of an obvious cause of post-sepsis syndrome. In some cases, one cannot pinpoint the cause. PSS doesn’t discriminate. If you were healthy prior to your hospitalization, you could still suffer from it.

It may be as simple as the fact that sepsis ravaged your body. After all, it can quickly become a life-threatening situation. You will need heavy doses of antibiotics, which can also leave your body in a weakened state.

Should you should someone accountable?

As you struggle to adapt to life after sepsis and post-sepsis syndrome, it could take you a while to realize that, if you had never suffered from that hospital-acquired infection that doctors failed to diagnose in a timely fashion, you may not be in the position you find yourself in now.

If that is the case, you could consult with a Delaware medical malpractice attorney to determine whether you have a legal claim against the hospital, doctors and anyone else who may bear some legal responsibility for what happened to you. The pursuit of compensation for your financial losses is your right, but you don’t have to embark on this endeavor alone.

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