A staple of the American diet is meat. For most, meat is consumed daily.
“Yeah… so what?” you say.
Did you know that most commercial meat growers feed their animals and birds a daily diet of antibiotics? Daily – in every meal…
Did you also know that 80% of the antibiotics used in the U.S. are fed to livestock?
Ok. Are you still wondering why this fact matters?
One of the gravest dangers to mankind is the rapid rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. In fact, the age of the antibiotic is believed to be near an end.
Why’s this happening? The answer is found back on those farms and in the food, you eat daily. The overuse – some call it abuse – of antibiotics is making it possible for common bacterial strains to mutate into forms ominously called “superbugs” now completely resistant to conventional treatment.
What does all this mean?
Here is what life was like before antibiotics:
“Before antibiotics, five women died out of every 1,000 who gave birth. One out of nine people who got a skin infection died, even from something as simple as a scrape or an insect bite. Three out of ten people who contracted pneumonia died from it, ear infections caused deafness; sore throats resulted in heart failure….
Unfortunately, cases like this might once again become more common. “If we’re not careful, we will soon be in a post-antibiotic era,” Dr. Thomas Frieden, the director of the CDC recently said. “For some patients and some microbes, we are already there.” [1]
Increasingly, one of the leading killers in America is hospital-acquired bacterial infections. Many of these bacterial infections are caused by these new strains of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. These infections can develop during routine hospital visits (often because the hospital has failed to maintain rigid hygiene standards for equipment and staff), and are now difficult if not impossible to treat, making them fatal. Remember – a hospital’s failure to maintain rigid standards of cleanliness and hygiene is medical malpractice.
What can consumers do to protect themselves against infection? Here are a few thoughts:
- If a hospital stay is in your future and it is a planned procedure – make sure you understand the hospital’s hygiene procedures and get assurances that they are followed scrupulously at all times.
- If you find yourself hospitalized for emergency care, ask family or friends to talk to the hospital about their standards.
- Also, ask hospital staff before they examine you whether they have washed their hands first.
- Finally – with the bigger picture in mind – think about the meat you consume and consider asking your grocer to carry more meats raised without antibiotic supplementation.
If you or a loved one is ever the victim of a hospital-acquired infection, call a qualified Connecticut medical malpractice lawyer. A knowledgeable medical malpractice lawyer can help to ensure that your rights are protected.
RisCassi & Davis has handled hundreds of medical malpractice cases over our more than 65 years serving the people of Connecticut.
What’s more, our Connecticut medical malpractice lawyers have received local and national recognition for our handling of these cases including:
- Top listings in “The Best Lawyers in America” and “Best Law Firms”
- Top listing by Martindale-Hubbell as a “New England Top Rated AV Preeminent® Law Firm
- Admission of five of our personal injury lawyers as members in the very prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers. The American College is a professional society of Fellows who become members only by invitation, with admission limited to experienced, outstanding trial lawyers who are unquestionably and eminently qualified as actively engaged trial lawyers. Only 1% of all trial lawyers in any state are offered admission as members to the College
- Listing in New England Super Lawyers published by Connecticut Magazine. Less than 5% of attorneys in the New England states receive this honor
- Lifetime Achievement awards from the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association and the Connecticut Law Tribune
- Board Certification by the National Board of Trial Advocacy
We have a great team dedicated to medical malpractice cases. Our offices are in Hartford but we are available to meet with you in your home or office if that is easier for you. Please contact us if we can help you. The consultation is free and there is no obligation of any kind.
[1]https://civileats.com/2013/11/20/what-does-a-post-antibiotic-era-look-like/#sthash.fsenPO2Y.dpuf