Survivor Raises Awareness of Hospital-Acquired Infections, California Malpractice Laws

Walton Barber, LLP

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Alicia Cole entered a Los Angeles area hospital to have fibroids removed, a relatively simple procedure. What was supposed to be a one-day stay in the hospital, turned into a five-month fight for survival after she acquired a hosptial-born necrotizing fasciitis, the flesh-eating bacteria.

Like thousands of other patients in American hospitals, Ms. Cole became a victim of the saddest of all ironies. It was the hospital that made her sick, not the other way around.

After recovering, she decided to take action and raise awareness about this growing epidemic (since hospitals are not required to disclose infection rates). In her