Yes, you could sue if your hip replacement gets infected. This can occur due to a defective implant, a dangerous medical device used during the procedure, or medical malpractice. You could file a lawsuit against the liable party. You can seek recovery for your medical bills, lost wages, and the pain and suffering you experienced.
How Serious are Infections Following Hip Replacement Procedures?
Infection is a surprisingly rare complication of hip replacement procedures. However, the risk of infection may increase if revision surgery is necessary because of a failed implant or another issue stemming from a defective medical device.
Sometimes, serious infections also cause patients to require revision surgery. If the infection occurs within a few weeks of the initial procedure, the surgeon could reopen the wound to clean the implant and apply antibiotics. If the infection occurs more than three or four weeks after surgery, they may need to do the following to cure the infection:
- Open the wound
- Replace the implant
How Can You Tell if You Have a Hip Replacement Infection?
Sometimes, people might not realize that their hip replacement has been infected for months. With that, it is crucial for your doctor to keep track of your health after surgery and that you alert them if you ever feel “off.”
According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), you might have a hip replacement infection if you have been experiencing:
- Pain, swelling, or stiffness in your hip area
- Fever and/or night sweats
- Chills
- Fatigue
If You Qualify to File a Claim or Lawsuit for Your Infection
Whether or not you can take legal action depends on how the infection occurred. These infections typically happen due to:
- A defective device or hip replacement
- Your physician’s malpractice during surgery
- Lack of monitoring post-surgery
- Failure to take proper precautions before, during, and after surgery
If we find that any of the reasons listed above (or another) was the cause of your infection, we could sue the manufacturing company or healthcare facility for negligence.
It might be difficult to take on the opposing party’s insurance provider and legal team on your own. They might try to blame you for the infection because you failed to follow through with your post-surgery plan. If you hire a lawyer on our team to go to bat for you while you handle your recovery, they can take this burden, among many others, off your shoulders and protect your rights.
How Long You Have to Sue if Your Hip Replacement Gets Infected
If you want to sue for damages related to your hip replacement infection, the state puts a time limit on doing so. However, the amount of time you have to file your lawsuit depends on who caused the infection.
For example:
- Medical malpractice: Typically two years under Texas law
- Defective product: About 15 years under Texas law
If you fail to file within this time frame, you might lose your right to pursue any financial recovery from those responsible. In turn, you will have to pay off all your damages. We can avoid this scenario if you inform us about your case as soon as possible.
Available Forms of Financial Recovery for a Hip Replacement Infection
Like all injury cases, how much financial recovery you can seek depends on the specifics of your situation, like:
- How the infection has affected your quality of life
- If you had to take work off to recover
- Your age
- How serious the infection became
- Your proposed treatment plan
- Your finances
Once we review each of these factors, we can determine which damages you could pursue. Some of them might include:
- Lost wages: This category could cover hourly pay, tips, commissions, bonuses, vacation time, promotions, business opportunities, and other benefits.
- Lost earning potential: If your infection got so bad you can’t return to work for the foreseeable future or have to accept a job that has lower pay
- Past and future healthcare costs: You might need follow-up surgery, pain medications, physical therapy, diagnostic exams, and assistive medical devices to help you with recovery.
- Pain and suffering: The hip infection might have caused you a lot of physical pain and discomfort.
- Mental anguish: Physical pain can affect your mental health, so you might suffer from depression and anxiety as a result.
It might be difficult to evaluate each of these damages, especially the latter two. If you hire an attorney with our firm, they can go over your medical records and bills and talk to your doctors. Our team wants to get a sense of your quality of life since the infection. With that information, they can determine a settlement amount to request from the insurer.
Work with D. Miller & Associates, PLLC®, if You Suffered a Hip Replacement Infection
If your hip replacement got infected, let the lawyers at D. Miller & Associates, PLLC®, help you sue the liable party for damages.
For a case evaluation, call us today at (713) 850-8600.