Wife Files Malpractice Lawsuit for Misdiagnosis

The wife of a man who died after contracting a staph infection has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the Florida doctors who failed to properly diagnose the infection that led to the man's death.

The widow of Ronald Carl claims that doctors at Oak Hill Hospital in Brooksville, Florida acted negligently when they failed to properly evaluate and treat a boil, which turned out to be a virulent staph infection known as MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus).

The lawsuit states that Carl went to the hospital to get the boil looked at by a doctor, but was sent home with only antibiotics. A culture test was never taken to determine the nature of the condition.

A culture was finally taken on the boil when Carl returned the hospital a few days later to control his blood sugar. But although tests indicated that Carl had a MRSA infection, he was never notified and it was not documented in his medical records.

The lawsuit further claims that two months after the hospital failed to diagnose the MRSA infection, Carl was readmitted to the hospital but there was a 21-hour delay before he could be examined and diagnosed with the infection.   Although he was put in the intensive care unit, he suffered a cardiac arrest hours later and died the next morning.

When left untreated, MRSA infections can be life-threatening, impacting multiple parts of the body including bones, joints, surgical wounds, the bloodstream, lungs, and heart valves.

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