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C. diff Attorneys in Illinois
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Clostridium difficilis (C. diff) is a dangerous bacteria that typically grows in the colon or large intestine and causes swelling. Right now, about 500,000 Americans are afflicted with it per year, but that number is growing, and the disease can be fatal. The symptoms can range from mild diarrhea to life-threatening colitis; essentially, C. diff destroys the mucus lining of the intestines. Bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and severe abdominal pain are early indicators that you may have the disease, particularly if you were recently in a nursing home or hospital environment. You might also experience flu-like symptoms. The reason that C. diff is so dangerous is that it can eventually lead to a severe infection of the colon, which can be fatal.
The biggest concern with C. diff is that if you get the disease and are not diagnosed in a timely manner it can lead to catastrophic harm or in many cases can result in a death.
The infection comes in two forms, bacteria and spores. Unfortunately, the spores are nearly indestructible and can survive for months on many surfaces unless they are disinfected. In fact, typical hospital disinfectants do not kill it; the CDC recommends using bleach, instead. For you to get C. diff, two things must happen: (1) you have to ingest C. diff spores, and (2) something must disturb the ecological balance of the normal bacteria that live in your colon. It can usually be treated with antibiotics, although it seems to be growing increasingly resistant to several types. It is diagnosed with a stool sample (as infected people have millions of the spores in their feces), and infected patients should be isolated so that the airborne spores do not spread.
C. diff can run wild in nursing homes and hospitals, which frequently fail to properly and accurately diagnose the infection or isolate patients who have it. If you or your family member acquired the C. diff infection while in a hospital or a nursing home, you may have a malpractice claim.
A nursing home or hospital may fail to provide the basic standard of care, and infections can spread rapidly. The results of a C. diff infection can be severe, and potentially fatal, especially given the more at-risk state of many nursing home residents and hospital patients. With well-trained, diligent hospital or nursing home staff and proper care, this infection is often preventable. If a patient is diagnosed with C. diff and not isolated from other patients then the facility providing care is likely guilty of negligence.
Although C. diff occurs a lot, there are not a lot of attorneys that have a strong track record of filing lawsuits on behalf of patients who suffer from this terrible bacteria. If you would like help in finding an experienced attorney for these cases or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will gladly point you in the right direction.