Brisbane, Australia – 14th February, 2018: Kelly Smith has lodged a claim for $1.2 million in damages in the Supreme Court in Brisbane for medical negligence.
The 34-year-old went to the Emergency Department in February 2015 after she fell out of bed and injured her left leg.
Her lawyer Sarah Atkinson from Maurice Blackburn said her client was sent home without antibiotics.
"When she attended Ipswich Hospital and the Emergency Department there were very clear signs that she was suffering from an infection," she said.
"It would have been a simple case of prescribing her with antibiotics and then calling her back in for a follow up to check the antibiotics were working and that would have cured the infection."
Ms Smith claimed she was seen by three separate GPs over the following months but none of them detected the infection.
"She was receiving visits at home from a number of GPs and unfortunately none of those GPs persuaded her to return to hospital," Sarah Atkinson said.
"Eventually she returned to hospital in April 2015 and they've diagnosed her with an advanced infection which has caused necrosis to her leg and possibly gangrene."
Two months later Ms Smith had a below-knee amputation, which she said has led to considerable medical expenses including prosthesis.
"My client has some mental health issues and so there was a higher duty on the doctors to ensure that she took their advice.
"If they were asking her to attend hospital, to make sure that she did actually attend hospital and we allege that didn't happen."
In a statement, West Moreton Health chief executive Dr Kerrie Freeman said the hospital would not comment on matters before the court.
"I know that this is a difficult time for Kelly Smith and my team are fully engaged in complaint and review processes," Dr Freeman said.
"If anyone has concerns, complaints or questions about their healthcare, including treatment options and outcomes, we want to hear from them."
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-14/woman-to-sue-hospital-after-infection-leads-to-amputation/9442346