Got MRSA from a hospital can I sue for damages

A year ago, i broke my leg and as a result of the surgery, the hospital infected me with a MRSA.
A year later, 8 surgeries and several weeks in hospital on antibiotics, i am still screwed up as a result of this.
I haven’t been able to work and have huge medical bills due to the surgeries and care that a new hospital has given me.
Can I sue the original hospital and how would i go about doing this?

Welcome Sean. Sorry to hear about your ongoing woes. I’m sure someone will be along shortly with some premium advice.

And it’s about time you got here. We’ve been waiting 20 years for you.

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I have no specific legal advice but your first point of contact should be your local Legal Aid Foundation LAF to get some direction as to how to proceed; that or hiring a lawyer on your own. Do you have documentation from the current hospital that the original hospital caused your problem? Because, and Ive heard it from a doctor directly, some hospitals will do whatever it takes to bury any proof of malpractice.

Hoping for specific legal advice as have paper work and are currently under isolation in hospital again.

There used to be lawyers reading or moderating this group… Is that no longer a thing?

I know @yyy knows a lot about law and he might be around soon, but that may not be their expertise of knowledge, i dont know. I remember Eiger lawyers used to be around here but I haven’t seen them post in ages so I assume not.
I hope you get better soon and also hope someone else with relevant experience can chip in here. Post Bump

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They may still be lurking. You can buzz anyone with an @ like Dan just did to me.

My area of interest is labor law, but I will say this: always get a receipt and always keep it.

The thing is I don’t actually know the names or handles or law folk…
There was somebody called Richard H??? who i think was the go to law fella legal questions…
Any help in tagging appropriate would be much appreciated :slight_smile:

I’d suggest looking through a lot of the archived threads in the Legal sub-forum. Spend 40 minutes skimming them and I’m sure you’ll stumble upon a few keen legal minds.

If you read Chinese, court judgements related to MRSA would give you some idea.

https://law.judicial.gov.tw/default.aspx

Probably thinking of @Hartzell. Seems hasn’t been on this site in a few years. Maybe try facebook.

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In order to avoid, what hospital was the original!?

With regards the huge medical bills, are they not covered by NHI?

My advice is not to name the original hospital as it may leave you open to counter litigation. Don’t post any specifics publicly until you have sound legal advice.

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Some are covered, but things like the metal plates which got infected and had to removed than replaced were not covered by NHI.
When the MRSA ate away my leg bone, the special leg bone glue used for the bone grafts was also not covered by the NHI.

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The problem is it’s virtually impossible to prove the infection came from the hospital or their negligence unless you already have that in writing somehow.

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MRSA isn’t malpractice, at least under UK law.

I hope the law in Taiwan is different, but generally infections are just seen as bad luck. Very difficult to prove negligence.

People in Taiwan certainly do sue hospitals and doctors for medical malpractice. The question is whether the hospital or doctor did something wrong, or is it just terrible luck to get infected with that bacteria?

You really need to talk with more than one Taiwanese attorney who has experience with medical malpractice cases in Taiwan. Whether or not you could win such a case is highly dependent upon specific facts, Taiwan law, and how the Taiwan courts assess the hospital’s duty of care to the patient.

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As mentioned above bad luck is spmetimes just that. In the end seems a judge could, rightfully so, say hospitals are there to help but arent responsible for your broken leg.

On moral grounds seems more logical to sue the company (hospital) and not the individual. As infections do happen it sucks. Sueing the company will aecure, hopefully, higher degrees of diligence. Sueing the person likely not.

But to sue you would need paper proof. Did you sign a liability waiver befire surgery? Most times i have had an operation here i had to sign something kf that sort which allows them to get off free. Not aure how legally binding they are and their wording certainly varries…so you need a lawyer no doubt. But if you signed a waiver AND dont have proof you can probably save your lawyer fees.

This is very good advice in taiwan.