Infectious disease physicians diagnose and treat infections such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, MRSA, meningitis, sepsis, pneumonia, and more. Infectious disease expert witnesses are called upon to consult and testify in a wide range of medical malpractice cases regarding infectious disease.
The Trust for America’s Health Organization and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recent report Protecting Americans from Infectious Diseases describes how the majority of states are not prepared for infectious disease outbreaks.
More than half of states scored a five or lower out of 10 key indicators related to preventing, detecting, diagnosing and responding to outbreaks. Five states—Delaware, Kentucky, Maine, New York and Virginia—tied for the top score, achieving eight out of 10 indicators. Seven states—Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah—tied for the lowest score at three out of 10.
According to Jeffrey Levi, PhD, Executive Director of Trust for America’s Health:
The overuse of antibiotics and underuse of vaccinations along with unstable and insufficient funding have left major gaps in our country’s ability to prepare for infectious disease threats,” said. “We cannot afford to continue to be complacent. Infectious diseases—which are largely preventable—disrupt the lives of millions of Americans and contribute to billions of dollars in unnecessary health care costs each year.
Infectious disease symptoms, treatment, and complications are complex. Litigation concerning standard of care and causation in this area of medicine requires an expert legal team. In the event of an infectious disease medical negligence case, only the experienced and vetted expert witness will meet the mark in consulting and presenting testimony.
