Woman seeks R1.5m after hospital ordeal

File picture: Marvin Gentry

File picture: Marvin Gentry

Published Nov 24, 2014

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Pretoria - A woman who fell off a tractor and broke her pelvis is claiming more than R1.5 million from health officials, claiming hospital staff allowed her wounds to go septic.

Medical reports handed to the high court in Pretoria said 43-year-old Janita Bodenstein, of Bethal, Mpumalanga, can be grateful she is still alive.

Bodenstein, who lives on a farm, fell off a tractor driven by her husband on January 23, 2010 and landed under the wheels.

An ambulance was called, but could reach her only 90 minutes later due to bad weather conditions.

She was taken to Bethal Hospital, where it was at first recorded that she had bruised her right hip and thigh. But it was later established she had in fact fractured her pelvis.

Bodenstein said she could not move her lower limbs and was confined to her hospital bed for several weeks.

Although a doctor said he gave instructions for the nurses to turn her regularly to avoid pressure sores, they did not do this.

Pressure sores developed, and the wounds became septic as they were not kept clean.

The court was told there appeared to have been a shortage of clean hospital linen at the time as their washing machines were broken.

The family recalled that when they asked Bodenstein’s doctor about the septic lesions, he told them “this is nature’s way of healing”.

The family pleaded with him to transfer her to another hospital, but he refused as he did not regard her condition as serious enough.

The family contacted their local DA councillor, who put them in contact with another doctor. When he saw pictures of the septic wounds across Bodenstein’s lower limbs, he immediately organised for her to be transferred to Witbank Hospital.

The sepsis was so extreme by that stage that most of her thigh was covered in gangrene. She was rushed into theatre upon admission to clean the wounds.

Bodenstein remained in hospital for about seven months. She has such extensive scarring that she will have to undergo reconstructive surgery. Experts are of the opinion that the scars will be with her for life.

According to an expert report, the only treatment Bodenstein received at Bethal Hospital was bed rest.

The expert said that apart from the fracture, she had bruising to her right thigh following the accident. He expressed concern that this “resulted in such a disastrous condition”.

The expert said it was clear that she developed hospital-acquired infection due to poor infection control.

“I also find it astounding that the treating doctor at Bethal Hospital had assured the family that the wound was improving.

This woman is lucky to have survived this episode.”

The matter was postponed for other medical reports.

Pretoria News

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