With increasing numbers of patients presenting to the ED, it seems inevitable that staff could miss something critical. Such was the case with Jean Law, a nurse at Florida's Baptist Medical Center South, who went to her hospital's emergency room early one morning with a 104-degree fever, racing pulse, aches and low blood pressure.
After examining Law and determining that no infection was present, doctors sent her home with a pain med prescription. But a bacterial infection was raging through her body, doctors would learn later that day. It was too late; within a week, sepsis claimed most of Law's fingers, both legs and part of her nose.
Law now plans to sue her Jacksonville-based employer, saying the missed diagnosis caused her to lose precious hours when she could have taken antibiotics to stop the infection, the Florida Times-Union reports.
Her lawyers claim she had "a textbook presentation" of sepsis, and filed a complaint with Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration. They'll file a lawsuit once a 90-day notice period expires, the newspaper reports.
The hospital says Baptist staff weren't to blame.
"We are deeply saddened by the heartbreaking loss suffered by her, her family and the fellow nurses and staff who care about her," the hospital said in a written statement provided to the Times-Union. The statement added that the hospital "provided timely, appropriate and compassionate care, and that the care she received saved her life."
To learn more:
- read the Florida Times-Union article
- watch a local newscast of the story
- read this press release on the website of Law's attorney