Attorneys for Failure to Diagnose Compartment Syndrome

Chicago Compartment Syndrome Lawyer

Are you the victim of compartment syndrome that left you with injuries and damages? The Chicago, IL personal injury attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC have years of experience helping injured clients maximize their compensation through a medical malpractice case or legal liability lawsuit.

Discuss your failure to diagnose compartment syndrome case with a Chicago, IL attorney who will protect your rights and obtain the compensation you or your loved one deserves.

Contact our personal injury law firm today at (888) 424-5757 to schedule a free consultation.

Defining Compartment Syndrome

Compartment syndrome is a severe medical emergency that requires a prompt surgical response at a hospital to avoid muscle death (necrosis) or amputation.

The condition happens when bleeding or swelling in the area produces extensive pressure in a muscle "compartment."

Nearly any forceful physical impact could lead to acute compartment syndrome with compartmentalized swelling or bleeding of the body part that prevents blood circulation, requiring immediate surgical repair.

Almost half of acute compartment syndrome injuries involve tibia fractures in the lower legs due to a crushing accident or repeated intravenous use. Sometimes, an individual develops the condition following a surgical procedure.

Without an accurate compartment syndrome diagnosis and prompt treatment, severe injuries could follow. In catastrophic cases where there is extensive compartment pressure or muscle and nerve damage in a compartment, death may occur.

Acute Compartment Syndrome

Acute compartment syndrome is one of two categories of the condition. Compartment syndrome usually develops after a catastrophic forceful injury that may involve severe muscle and nerve damage, muscle tissue contusion, fracture (bone break), crush injuries, or surgical mistakes.

Unbearable pain out of proportion to the extent of the injury is among the first symptoms of compartment syndrome, usually because of the compartment pressures caused by restricted blood supply affecting muscle and nerve tissue.

Many individuals with an acute compartment syndrome are harmed while wearing a cast or bandage applied too tight, restricting circulation.

In addition, many injured victims wearing a cast or bandage experienced pins and needles (paresthesia) with extreme numbness or sensations in the injured extremity. This sensation is often the result of nerve damage or progressing compartment pressures.

The pressure within the enclosed space may also develop quickly through repeated IV (intravenous) usage, where fluid fills up within the compartment, causing injuries to nerves, arterial vessels, muscles, or organs.

Common contributing factors for acute compartment syndrome include:

• Burns
• Blood clots in the legs and arms
• Crushing force injury
• Prolong compression on the leg or arm
• Improperly repaired broken bones (medical malpractice)
• Surgical mistakes during elbow and knee repairs (medical malpractice)

Chronic Compartment Syndrome

Statistically, compartment syndrome happens most often in the front (anterior) compartment of the calf (lower leg).

However, developing compartment syndrome can also occur in the buttocks, feet, hands, and arms, especially after a catastrophic injury, a broken bone (fracture), or a car accident from the pressure within a compartment.

Intense physical activity causing a repetitive impact on the lower leg, arm, or torso could result in chronic compartment syndrome. For example, many athletes who strenuously exercise or are involved in a high-impact sport may develop the syndrome.

Typically, the chronic condition occurs from overexertion on a body part where tissues might already be injured from strenuous exercise.

Both acute and chronic compartment syndrome can result from intense physical injury caused by trauma, blunt force, or overexertion.

The common risk factors associated with acute and chronic conditions include:

• Younger athletes, specifically under forty years of age
• Individuals that perform specific exercise routines, including swimming, tennis, and running
• Overexertion caused by over-training involving frequent workouts or intense exercise

Without immediate medical intervention to treat acute or chronic conditions, the condition could result in renal failure, limb amputation, or permanent nerve injury.

Compartment Syndrome Injuries

The body develops in compartments (areas) containing organs, nerves, arteries and veins, and muscles, where each region is separated by fascia, internal connective tissue segmented walls that create a compartment.

Any physical injury with forceful impact could allow blood and fluid to accumulate, triggering swelling inside the compartment.

The increased pressure against the fascia tissue stretches the tissue beyond its capacity. In addition, the swollen area restricts blood flow circulation to the organs and tissue inside the compartment.

The loss of oxygenated blood circulation can cause tissue and organ necrosis that start to decay. Without immediate attention, the victim could suffer the loss of a limb or organ affected by the excessive swelling pressure.

Typically, the legs, arms, and abdominal areas are highly vulnerable to blood-restricted damage.

Symptoms of Compartment Syndrome

Typically, pain is the first indicator of compartment syndrome following a blunt force injury or fluid accumulation in the area. The pain results from the restricted vein or artery circulation to tissue and muscle when the compartment is stretched or moved.

Common symptoms of compartment syndrome include:

• Intense pain at the affected site when muscle, tissue, or organs swell with accumulated blood or excessive swelling,
• A tingling or burning sensation at the skin's top layer and underlying tissue,
• A feeling of tightness or fullness at the injury or accumulating intravenous fluid site,
• A distended, tight abdomen
• Restricted urine output
• A loss of sensation or partial paralysis during the latter stages of a compartmental syndrome injury, likely leading to tissue or muscle necrosis, or irreversible harm

Treating Compartmental Syndrome

Doctors recognize a severe compartmental syndrome injury as an immediate health care emergency. Without prompt surgical intervention (fasciotomy), amputation may be the only option to avoid a loss of life.

A surgeon will make an incision through the skin, underlying tissue, and the compartment's fascia wall to relieve swelling, allowing the previously restricted circulation to return to the affected area.

The procedure ensures that the bleeding stops and the swelling reduces before suturing the incision.

Untreated Compartment Syndrome

Any compartment syndrome left untreated could lead to severe or permanent injury. In extreme cases, the condition can cause complete tissue and muscle necrosis at the affected site requiring amputation to avoid the patient's death.

Comment outcomes of the condition that is left untreated could involve:

• Rhabdomyolysis, a severe direct or indirect muscle injury where muscle fibers die, releasing their contents into the blood, leading to severe complications including kidney (renal) failure;
• Sepsis/septic shock, a deadly circulatory infection that produces an elevated heart rate, weakness, and chills;
• Permanent kidney failure
• Extensive kidney necrosis
• Chronic pain at the affected site
• Foot drop, a common occurrence where the patient loses their ability to lift the front of the foot or toes easily
• Loss of sensation of the affected site

Medical Malpractice and Compartment Syndrome

Nearly every compartment syndrome case is a hospital emergency requiring immediate orthopedic surgical intervention.

The outcome from the condition could be catastrophic without an accurate evaluation and immediate orthopedic surgical intervention.

Failure to diagnose the condition could result in losing a limb, sepsis (circulatory infection), kidney failure, or necrosis.

Statistically, more medical malpractice cases involve orthopedic surgery mistakes compared to all other surgical errors. Most malpractice cases are built on hospital negligence involving orthopedic doctors who failed to diagnose, treat, or correctly repair an affected area.

Medical Negligence in a Failure to Diagnose Compartment Syndrome

Additionally, many medical negligence cases involve patients in extreme pain after their surgical procedure or those taking prescription medications that masked the condition's symptoms.

Some hospital negligence lawsuits are filed by patients who waited hours to see an orthopedic doctor during an emergency room visit. In many cases, the doctors and nursing staff failed to diagnose a developing acute compartment syndrome.

The patient will also leave the hospital wearing a cast to repair a broken bone with prescribed medications to treat the swelling and fracture-related pain.

Yet, within hours, the restricted circulation could kill muscle, tissue, nerves, arteries, and veins, leading to amputation that could have been prevented had the staff not been negligent in providing care.

Many of these cases involving a failure to diagnose compartment syndrome are based on hospital negligence where the staff made mistakes or prematurely discharged the patient from their care.

Sadly, many of these horrific outcomes could have been prevented had the doctor performed a fasciotomy procedure to alleviate the pressure and restore restricted blood flow at the damaged site.

Compartment Syndrome FAQs

Our personal injury attorneys understand that many families have unanswered questions on the doctor's failure to diagnose compartment syndrome. Our legal team has answered some of those questions below.

Call our law office today at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone number) for additional information on the signs and symptoms of exertional compartment syndrome.

Hiring a Medical Malpractice Attorney to Resolve Your Compartment Syndrome Case

Have you suffered harm, or was a loved one killed from exertional compartment syndrome damage? Contact us at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone call) or use the contact form to schedule a free consultation to discuss your legal rights.

Our Chicago, IL personal injury attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC will advise you on your best financial options and whether you could be entitled to damages by pursuing a case based on Illinois civil tort law.

Our medical malpractice attorney accepts exertional compartment syndrome cases through contingency fee arrangements. This agreement ensures you only pay for our services after we have resolved your compensation case.

Any family member who lost a loved one through a wrongful death can file a lawsuit for all damages, including medical bills, lost earnings, loss of consortium, funeral and burial expenses, pain, and suffering.

All information you, a family member, or your loved one share with our malpractice attorneys remains private and confidential through an attorney-client relationship.

Our medical malpractice lawyer currently follows CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines on Covid-19 social distancing to ensure everyone's health.

Resources:

• Chronic External Compartment Syndrome
• National Library of Medicine - Compartment Syndrome

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC has years of experience winning multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements for our clients. Our Illinois firms' awards and recognitions include the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Super Lawyers, Lawyers Legion, and Lawyers of Distinction.