Appeals Court Says Woman’s MRSA Lawsuit Can Proceed

Appeals Court Says Woman's MRSA Lawsuit Can ProceedAn appeals court recently overturned the decision of a lower court in allowing the estate of a woman who allegedly contracted a highly-resistant infection to sue the hospital where she allegedly caught the bug.

Floridian Louise Webster had sued Martin Memorial Medical Center, claiming that she had contracted methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) while a patient there in 2002, according to the Treasure Coast Palm. She died in 2009 of complications unrelated to this infection, and her husband, Alexander Webster, will pursue the medical malpractice lawsuit against Martin Memorial now that the litigation has been allowed to proceed.

Webster's medical malpractice attorney expressed satisfaction with the ruling, saying that her client will now be able to have his day in court. The ruling will allow a jury to decide if the hospital did not have proper infection control practices, and if these contributed to Webster's infection, she said.

MRSA infection has been known to often be acquired during hospitalization, and studies have found that infection caused by this antibiotic-resistant bacteria is typically linked to healthcare settings. According to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, approximately 85 percent of invasive MRSA infections were associated with healthcare.