Woman alleges infection was misdiagnosed

BRISBANE, Australia, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- A 46-year-old woman in Queensland, Australia, alleges in a lawsuit the flesh-eating infection she suffered from was misdiagnosed by hospital staff.

The woman, identified only as Tracey, is suing the Queensland State Government for medical negligence connected to the insufficient medical care she allegedly received at Gympie Hospital in Gympie, Queensland, the Brisbane Courier-Mail reported in its Thursday edition.

Tracey said after suffering a scratch on her ankle in early 2008, she soon began suffering severe pain and sought help at Gympie Hospital.

She alleges hospital staff simply gave her paracetamol-codeine tablets and a prescription for antibiotics during the initial visit.

During a second visit to the hospital, Tracey alleges she was vaguely diagnosed with an infection and given a shot of morphine for her pain.

Tracey alleges a day later she was back at the hospital and staff struggled to determine what was wrong with her leg. She said she was transferred to Royal Brisbane hospital where she was properly diagnosed with necrotising fasciitis.

"If they'd got on to it sooner, my leg wouldn't have been this bad," alleges Tracey, who received skin grafts and underwent 12 operations to confront the infection and repair the damage to her leg.

The report did not detail damages sought by the suit.