Sepsis is a life-threatening response to infection that can worsen rapidly. For patients and families, one of the most difficult questions after a serious case of sepsis is whether the outcome was unavoidable—or whether important warning signs were missed and treatment was unnecessarily delayed.
Developing sepsis does not automatically mean medical malpractice occurred. Even with appropriate medical care, infections can become severe. However, when healthcare providers fail to recognize signs of a serious infection, respond to a patient's deteriorating condition, order appropriate testing, or provide timely treatment, it may be appropriate to investigate whether medical negligence contributed to the patient's injuries.
What Is Sepsis?
Sepsis occurs when the body's response to an infection becomes dysregulated and begins causing potentially life-threatening organ dysfunction. It can develop from many different types of infections and can progress quickly.
Common sources of infection associated with sepsis may include:
Patients who are elderly, medically vulnerable, recovering from surgery, hospitalized, or living in nursing or long-term care facilities may face additional risks from serious infections.
When Can Sepsis Become a Medical Malpractice Issue?
The important legal question usually isn't simply whether a patient developed sepsis. Instead, the issue may be whether the healthcare providers involved responded appropriately based on the information available to them at the time.
A medical malpractice investigation may examine when symptoms first appeared, what the patient's vital signs showed, whether appropriate tests were ordered, how providers responded to abnormal results, how frequently the patient was monitored, and how quickly treatment was initiated as the patient's condition changed.
Learn more about Sepsis & Failure to Treat Medical Malpractice in New Mexico and how our team can help you understand whether a healthcare provider's actions met the required standard of care.
Common Examples of Potential Negligence in Sepsis Cases
Every case is different, and the presence of one of these circumstances does not by itself establish medical malpractice. However, issues that may warrant further investigation include:
Failure to Recognize Signs of Sepsis
A patient's condition may provide warning signs that an infection is becoming more serious. Providers may need to consider the patient's symptoms, vital signs, laboratory results, medical history, and changes in condition together rather than relying on a single finding.
Delayed Diagnosis
When a patient continues to deteriorate, healthcare providers may need to investigate the cause. A failure to appropriately evaluate a worsening infection or consider sepsis when clinically indicated can delay necessary treatment.
Failure to Order or Respond to Testing
Depending on the circumstances, evaluation may include bloodwork, cultures, imaging, or other testing. An investigation may look at whether appropriate testing was ordered and whether providers responded appropriately to abnormal findings.
Failure to Monitor a Deteriorating Patient
Changes in blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, mental status, urine output, laboratory values, or other clinical findings can be important. Failing to appropriately monitor or respond to a patient's deterioration may allow a serious infection to progress.
Failure to Escalate Care
A worsening patient may require additional evaluation, consultation, closer monitoring, or transfer to a higher level of care. Delays in escalating care can become an important issue when reviewing a sepsis case.
Premature Discharge
In some cases, a patient may be discharged from an emergency room, hospital, or other healthcare setting despite signs of a serious infection or worsening condition. If the patient later returns critically ill with sepsis, the earlier evaluation and discharge decision may warrant review.
Communication Failures
Patient care often involves physicians, nurses, laboratories, specialists, and other healthcare professionals. Failure to communicate abnormal test results or significant changes in a patient's condition can contribute to delays in diagnosis and treatment.
Can an Infected Bedsore Lead to Sepsis?
Yes. Bedsores—also called pressure injuries or pressure ulcers—can become infected. In serious cases, infection can spread beyond the wound and contribute to sepsis.
This can be particularly important in hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, and nursing homes where patients may be elderly, immobile, or medically vulnerable. Families can use Medicare Care Compare to review a facility's inspection history and quality ratings.
If your loved one developed sepsis in a nursing home, it is also worth understanding your rights regarding nursing home arbitration agreements, which can affect how a legal claim may proceed. Concerns about a facility's care can be reported to the New Mexico Health Care Authority or through the New Mexico Long-Term Care Ombudsman, which provides free, confidential advocacy for nursing home residents.
A bedsore-related case may raise two separate questions: whether reasonable measures were taken to prevent or manage the pressure injury, and whether signs of infection were appropriately recognized and treated. An infected bedsore that progresses to sepsis does not automatically establish negligence—the patient's condition, risk factors, wound care, monitoring, documentation, and response to infection all need to be considered.
Where Can Sepsis-Related Medical Negligence Occur?
Potential failures involving sepsis can occur in many healthcare settings:
Emergency Rooms
A patient may arrive with symptoms of an infection but be discharged or experience delays in evaluation and treatment.
Hospitals
A hospitalized patient may develop an infection or deteriorate while providers have access to ongoing vital signs, laboratory testing, and nursing observations.
Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care Facilities
Residents may develop pneumonia, urinary infections, infected pressure injuries, or other infections that require prompt recognition and medical attention.
Post-Surgical Care
Surgical wounds and other complications can become infected, making appropriate monitoring and response particularly important.
Clinics and Outpatient Settings
Patients presenting with symptoms of infection may require further evaluation, testing, treatment, or referral to a higher level of care.
What Happens When Sepsis Progresses?
Sepsis can cause serious and sometimes permanent harm. Depending on its severity, complications can include organ dysfunction, septic shock, prolonged hospitalization, permanent disability, amputation, and death.
A severe outcome alone does not prove negligence. Determining whether medical malpractice occurred generally requires examining both the medical standard of care and whether a provider's failure to meet that standard caused or contributed to the patient's harm.
How Is a Potential Sepsis Malpractice Case Investigated?
Medical records are often central to understanding what happened. An investigation may include reviewing:
- Emergency room and hospital records
- Nursing notes
- Vital-sign trends
- Laboratory and culture results
- Imaging
- Medication administration records
- Physician orders and progress notes
- Wound-care documentation
- Communication among healthcare providers
- Transfers between units or facilities
- Discharge instructions and follow-up care
The timing of events can be particularly important. A detailed medical chronology can help identify when the infection was first suspected, when the patient's condition changed, what providers knew at each point, and how they responded.
Medical experts may also be needed to determine what the applicable standard of care required and whether a departure from that standard caused additional harm. The Sepsis Alliance also provides patient and family resources for those affected by sepsis.
What If Sepsis Results in Death?
When sepsis results in death and there are concerns that delayed diagnosis, delayed treatment, or another medical error contributed to the outcome, the circumstances may warrant investigation.
Depending on the facts, surviving family members may have potential claims involving medical malpractice and wrongful death.
How Long Do You Have to Bring a Sepsis Medical Malpractice Claim in New Mexico?
Medical malpractice claims in New Mexico are subject to filing deadlines, but the deadline that applies can depend on the circumstances, including the healthcare provider involved and whether a government entity or public healthcare facility is involved.
Because these rules can be complex, patients and families should not assume that a particular deadline applies to their situation.
Read more about the statute of limitations for medical malpractice in New Mexico. Filing deadlines can vary based on the type of provider and the circumstances involved, making prompt consultation with an attorney important.
When Should You Speak With a Medical Malpractice Attorney?
If you or a loved one suffered serious harm after sepsis was missed, diagnosis was delayed, or treatment was not provided in a timely manner, obtaining the medical records and reviewing the timeline can help determine what happened.
The Dominguez Law Firm represents patients and families in medical malpractice cases throughout New Mexico. Our team can review the circumstances surrounding the care and determine whether further investigation may be appropriate.
Learn more about Sepsis & Failure to Treat Medical Malpractice in New Mexico →
If you believe a healthcare provider failed to recognize or appropriately treat sepsis, contact The Dominguez Law Firm for a free case evaluation. There is no obligation, and medical malpractice cases are handled on a contingency-fee basis.