The state Judicial Building.
The Iowa Supreme Court has thrown out a lawsuit by a Sioux City woman who lost her arm to flesh-eating bacteria.
Sharon Susie fell and injured her arm in 2012 and went to the urgent care clinic of Family Health Care of Siouxland. An x-ray found only swelling in the arm and she was told to ice it. Susie got worse the next day and was taken to Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City.
Doctors found the flesh-eating bacteria and amputated her arm and eight toes. Susie filed a lawsuit that claimed she would not have lost the arm if she had been given antibiotics during her visit to the clinic. The district court threw the case out saying the expert witness in the case could not directly tie the lack of antibiotics to the loss of her arm.
The State Appeals Court overturned that ruling. The Iowa Supreme Court sided with the district court — saying no expert witness provided testimony that getting antibiotics any earlier would have allowed her to save her arm.
Here’s the ruling: Susie opinion PDF