Indiana Hospital Sterilization Failure & Infection Lawyers

Hospital and Surgical Center Sterilization Failure

When patients enter a hospital or surgical center, they trust that the environment is clean, safe, and that the medical team is following the most basic standards of care. One of the most critical requirements is proper sterilization of surgical instruments, equipment, and operating rooms. When this standard is not met, patients may develop life-threatening infections.

Unfortunately, across the country, patients have been harmed by preventable infections because hospitals failed to properly sterilize equipment. In some cases, entire surgeries were delayed or canceled because surgical instruments could not be confirmed sterile. In others, patients underwent procedures with improperly sterilized tools, later developing infections that caused severe complications, or even death.

No Tolerable Risk With Sterilization

Surgical patients are often already vulnerable due to illness or injury. When medical professionals expose them to contaminated equipment, the risk of infection escalates quickly. Bacteria or viruses introduced during surgery can spread rapidly throughout the body. What may start as a localized infection can become sepsis, organ failure or other devastating conditions.

Hospitals and surgical centers must:

• Properly clean and sterilize all surgical instruments before use
• Follow established infection-control procedures for operating rooms and recovery areas
• Ensure staff are trained and up to date on sterilization protocols
• Immediately investigate and resolve any breakdowns in sterilization practices

Recent Surgical Sterilization Issues

When hospitals fail in their most basic duties, it is patients who suffer the consequences. Investigations across the U.S. and in Canada show how widespread and dangerous sterilization failures can be:

• At an Indianapolis VA hospital, surgeries were delayed after concerns surfaced about whether surgical instruments were sterile.
• In Colorado, state health officials investigated reports of improperly sterilized instruments at a major medical center, raising alarms for patients already scheduled for surgery.
• A Canadian hospital faced public scrutiny after equipment sterilization problems put patient safety at risk.

Medical Malpractice Attorneys at CohenMalad, LLP Can Help

If you or a loved one developed an infection after surgery and suspect it was linked to improperly sterilized equipment, you may have a claim for medical malpractice. Our attorneys have extensive experience holding hospitals, surgical centers, and medical providers accountable when they fail to protect patients.

We investigate what went wrong, whether sterilization protocols were ignored, and whether a lack of training or oversight caused your injury. Most importantly, we fight to obtain compensation for the harm you suffered, including medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and future care needs.

Contact CohenMalad, LLP's Medical Malpractice team today to discuss your case. Consultations are free, and you pay nothing unless we recover compensation on your behalf.