Evaluation of Precedents for Nosocomial MRSA Infection

Abstract

In recent years, the number of legal trials involving the legal responsibility of a hospital for the occurrence of nosocomial infection has been increasing, and hospitals have been required to pay large amounts of compensation. Precedents concerning the nosocomial infection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were analyzed during the past 12 years with a computer precedent search system, to identify only trials in which the nosocomial infection of the MRSA became a direct issue of the responsibility. Among the 23 precedents, 22 trials could be evaluated. Fault of a medical worker was involved in 13 cases, and the remaining nine cases were dismissed. MRSA infectious disease were closely related in ten of the 13 cases. MRSA nosocomial infection was considered to be the responsibility of the medical worker in a few cases, most related to the responsibility of early diagnosis and early adequate treatment of MRSA infections. © 2008, Japanese Society for Infection Prevention and Control. All rights reserved.