$9.7M For Death From Infected Surgical Wound: On April 27, 2023, a Macomb County Michigan medical malpractice jury deliberated for about five hours after more than two weeks of trial before returning an unanimous verdict in the amount of $9,702,296 against Henry Ford Macomb Hospital Corporation and surgeon Vijay Dixit, MD, for the death of a patient from a surgical site infection that allegedly was not timely or appropriately treated.

The patient, a 41-year-old mother of two teenagers, underwent an outpatient surgical procedure after which she developed an infection in the surgical wound. Days after her follow-up appointment with her surgeon, she began feeling ill. She went to the emergency room at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital for evaluation and treatment at which time it was determined that she had an infection in her surgical wound. The physician in the emergency room contacted the woman’s surgeon, who then saw the woman in the hospital mid-morning the following day.

The Michigan medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit alleged that the surgeon failed to timely perform a cleanout procedure of the infected surgical wound. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants failed to properly treat the woman’s infection for five days while she was in the hospital. The hospital’s medical staff allegedly failed to follow hospital safety policies and procedures while the woman’s condition deteriorated. The woman died from the improperly treated surgical wound infection that led to sepsis, on day six in the hospital, according to the Michigan wrongful death lawsuit.

The jury reportedly found Henry Ford Macomb Hospital Corporation administratively negligent for failing to implement and enforce proper safety policies. The jury reportedly found that the surgeon had breached the standard of care and that such breach was a cause of the patient’s death.

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Surgical Site Infections

Postoperative wound infection is a common healthcare problem. The process of wound infection is complex and involves an interplay between several biological pathways at the molecular levels. Wound infections account for high morbidity and mortality. Current data indicates that surgical site wound infections account for over two million nosocomial infections in patients who have been hospitalized in the United States.

Surgical wound infections are classified as follows by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

  • Superficial incisional infection that only involves the skin and subcutaneous tissues. One of the following criteria has to be met: purulent discharge from the wound, isolated organism, at least one symptom of infection, and diagnosis by the surgeon. These infections account for more than 50% of all surgical infections.
  • Deep incisional infections involve deeper tissues, including muscles and fascial planes. One of the following criteria has to be met: purulent discharge from the wound, dehiscence, or deliberate re-opening of deep incision by the surgeon after suspecting an infection, evidence of abscess formation, or other deep infection diagnoses by the surgeon.
  • Organ/space infection may involve any organ apart from the incision site but must be related to the surgical procedure. One of the following criteria has to be met: purulent discharge from the drain placed in the organ, isolated organism from the organ, abscess, or other infection involving the organ.

To be classified as a surgical site infection, the wound must:

  1. occur within 30 days after the surgery (in the case of organ/space infections with an implant in situ this is one year)
  2. only include the skin, subcutaneous tissues, deep layers or distant organs, and
  3. have either purulent drainage or organisms isolated from the wound site.

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If you or a loved one may have been injured as a result of surgical site infection in the United States, you should promptly find a medical malpractice lawyer in your state who may investigate your surgical site infection medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a surgical site medical malpractice case, if appropriate.

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