95 thousand On Tuesday, the District Court of Kraków awarded PLN compensation and damages as well as the pension to a patient infected in 2007 with streptococcus in the hospital of the Ministry of Interior and Administration in Kraków.
This is another judgment regarding this infection. A few days ago, two other sentences were passed, awarding patients 350, respectively. PLN and 600 thousand. PLN compensation for suffering and damage to health as well as compensation.
All judgments are not final. In two cases, the court awarded interest since 2008, and in one – since 2009.
Patients were infected with pyogenic streptococcus in October 2007. In four patients who gave birth by caesarean section in the hospital of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (then the Ministry of Interior and Administration), the streptococcal infection led to sepsis. Three of them went to the Gynecology Clinic of the University Hospital. The patient and the patient of the surgery ward were also infected with streptococcus.
In November, microbiologists from the Collegium Medicum of the Jagiellonian University determined that the source of the streptococcal infection was most likely an employee of the operating suite at the Ministry of Interior and Administration.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Krakow prosecutor’s office. Eventually it ended in redemption.
Three patients decided to seek compensation and redress before the court. The trial, which ended with a verdict on Tuesday, concerned a surgical ward patient who was infected during a varicose vein operation.
As in previous cases, the court found that the hospital was responsible for the infection of the patient. He obligated the hospital, jointly and severally with the insurer, to pay it PLN 90. PLN compensation and 5,6 thousand. PLN of compensation and a monthly disability pension until July 2015. It also established the liability of the hospital and the insurer for health effects that may appear in the future.
Jolanta Budzowska, legal counsel representing the patients, told PAP after the sentence was announced on Tuesday that the patients suffered serious health problems and their life situations were very difficult. One of the remaining patients infected with streptococcus, who testified in court as a witness, stated that after what she had been through, she did not have the strength to demand compensation and redress.
“Despite this, the hospital did not feel guilty all the time, knowing exactly what happened and what the mechanism was,” said Jolanta Budzowska. As she explained, the carrier of the streptococcus was a hospital attendant who, not being a medical staff, administered tools, tied sterile gowns, but was not entered as a participant in the operation. These facts only came to light during the trial. In addition, the experts also indicated, inter alia, that the time for cleaning the rooms between treatments was too short for effective sterilization. So there were many reasons for the infection.
“We have proposed a settlement many times at each hearing, the hospital has said no each time, and we have a sentence after eight years, under which interest will be almost 100%. the amounts of compensation and pensions »- indicated the lawyer.
«The judgments are not final. Our law firm is waiting for their justification. On this basis, we will decide whether to file an appeal, because we want to act in accordance with the rules of law, ”said Dr. Krzysztof Czarnobilski, director of treatment at the hospital of the Ministry of the Interior, to PAP.
When asked about the procedural position of the hospital, which requested that the lawsuits be dismissed, Dr. Czarnobilski said: “This was probably the tactic of the trial, I would not like to refer to it”.
As he emphasized, “From the very beginning, the hospital pursued a very open policy in this matter, a special committee was established under the chairmanship of prof. Piotr Heczka, head of the Department of Microbiology at Collegium Medicum of the Jagiellonian University, who thoroughly investigated the case ». “At that time, we kept all the procedures, despite certain facts that were established by the court,” said director Czarnobilski.
He also informed that as part of these activities, a scientific article was written in a foreign journal on the problem of nosocomial infections with streptococci, the main author of which was prof. Heczko and the hospital staff co-authors. «We did not hide our heads in the sand, we did it openly and always tried to operate according to the highest standards. We are sorry that such a situation has happened »- assured the doctor. As he added, the hospital obtained the accreditation of the Minister of Health, obtained the ISO certificate, and has now changed its profile and is the first multi-specialist hospital for elderly people in Poland.
Asked whether, due to the amount of interest, which may be equal to the amount awarded, it was not better to reach a settlement with infected patients, Krzysztof Czarnobilski replied: “From the very beginning we tried to reach a settlement, but the other party’s law firm did not agree to it”.
According to Tuesday’s Gazeta w Krakowie, the article on pyogenic streptococcus infection, co-authored by doctors from the Ministry of Interior and Administration hospital, was published in 2010 in the scientific journal “Clinical Microbiology and Infection”. Its authors admitted there that the source of the infection was a member of the medical staff – reports Gazeta.
According to specialists, streptococcal infection in the Ministry of Interior and Administration hospital in Krakow was the first such case in Poland in 40 years.