You can seek compensation for your immediate injuries if you’ve been bitten by an animal in Tennessee, but the reality is that those initial injuries may be the least of your worries. If the bite gets infected, you could face far greater issues and rising medical costs.
Cat bites are especially bad. Some reports show that about 20 percent to 80 perfect of all cat bites will then turn into an infection. It’s important to take the proper steps as soon as you’re bitten, but there is no guarantee that even doing so will prevent an infection.
There are a few different aerobic pathogens that can be found in cat bites, which include the following:
– Streptococcus pyogenes- Staphylococcus aureus- Staphylococcus moraxella- Pasteurella multocida
So, what happens if a bite gets infected? It depends on the type of infection, but a P. multocida infection often starts out as a cellulitis. It usually shows up within the first 24 hours, and it spreads very quickly. If you do not get treatment, you could end up with pneumonia, osteomyelitis, endocarditis, or even a brain abscess.
You could also end up with what is commonly referred to as cat scratch fever. This is actually called Bartonella henslae in the medical community. While it comes more often from kittens than full-grown cats, any cat has the potential to transmit it.
If you have been bitten and it has become infected, be sure to look into all of your legal rights to compensation, especially if your bills for medical treatment and antibiotics are mounting with each passing day.
Source: Medscape, “Animal Bite-associated Infections,” Nicole Thomas; Itzhak Brook, accessed Aug. 12, 2015