Practice Areas

MN Personal Injury Newsletter

Other Practice Areas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Personal Injury and Wrongful Death

My child has HUS and needs dialysis treatment. Can I get help with the medical bills?

Yes, in some cases you can get help with medical bills and other expenses if your child has HUS and needs dialysis treatment.

E coli HUS VideoHemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in children is almost always caused by food or water contaminated with E. coli bacteria, usually E. coli O157:H7. If the source of the E. coli contamination can be found, there may be one or more companies that can be sued for medical expenses, pain and suffering compensation and other damages. Our law firm hires epidemiologists to assist us with E. coli investigations. In addition, our attorneys work with health departments to make sure everything possible is done to find the source of E. coli contamination.

When we seek medical expenses in a lawsuit against a grower, food manufacturer, restaurant or other party, we ask for enough money to cover current medical expenses and estimated future medical expenses. We back this amount up with evidence, including medical records, expert medical testimony and scientific research regarding the long-term kidney complications from HUS.

Medical Treatments for HUS Kidney Failure

A child with HUS kidney failure must receive treatment to replace the work the kidneys do. The two types of treatment are dialysis and transplantation.

Dialysis

Dialysis is a way to remove the waste products and extra water from the blood of patients with kidney failure. The two main types of dialysis are peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis.

  • Peritoneal dialysis. This method uses the lining of the child's abdominal cavity, the peritoneum, as a filter. A catheter placed in the child's belly is used to pour a solution containing dextrose (a sugar) into the abdominal cavity. While the solution is there, it pulls wastes and extra fluid from the blood. Later, the solution is drained from the belly, along with the wastes and extra fluid. The cavity is then refilled, and the cleaning process continues.
  • Hemodialysis. This method uses a machine that carries the child's blood through a tube to a dialyzer, a canister that contains thousands of fibers that filter out the wastes and extra fluid. The cleaned blood is then returned to the child through a different tube.
Transplantation

Children who have transplants must take drugs to keep the body's immune system from rejecting the new organ. These immunosuppressive drugs can help maintain good function in the transplanted kidney for many years. However, they may have some undesirable side effects such as making a child vulnerable to infections.

HUS kidney failure in children leads to a multitude of serious health problems because the toxins that would have been eliminated from the body in urine end up in the blood. This build up of toxins is called uremia. These uremic toxins are basically poison to the body, hence the term uremic poisoning is often used to describe hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

Contact Pritzker Olsen


Free Case Consultation





Logos
 
Fred Pritzker on Comcast Newsmakers

Fred Pritzker on Twitter

Fred Pritzker is listed in The Best Lawyers in America

 
 

This is attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The result of each case is determined by the specific facts and the applicable law.