Medical malpractice cases are always an unexpected and unfortunate event and sadly can occur at any health clinic and to anyone.

If the case is due to negligence of some sort, it can be considered a legal matter which leads to personal injury.

An infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University is now recognized as being the first clinician to identify the "index case" of meningitis cases after receiving a spinal injection to relieve spinal pains.

After Dr. April Pettit had requested a culture of her patient's spinal fluid, a fungus, Aspergillus, was found.

The particular patient Pettit was caring for was so ill he was unable to communicate any longer.

Steroid injections which are used to relieve back pain are administered by the millions each year in the United States.

Thus far, the outbreak of meningitis cases due to spinal injections has killed two people and twelve people have become infected after receiving steroid injections, The New York Times reports.

It is suspected by doctors that the steroid medicine may have been contaminated with the fungus.

It remains impossible to recognize the extent of the breakout, officials said. So far, thirteen of the cases were in Tennessee and one other was in North Carolina.

Two new cases were identified on Tuesday, health officials said and they also said there could be more cases possibly and in other states.

According to Dr. David Reagan, the chief medical officer for the Tennessee Health Department, "I don't think we've identified all the cases that will be identified."

One of the two patients who died was being cared for by Pettit.

The Tennessee clinic where patients were receiving the steroid injections, Saint Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgery Center was closed on Sept. 20. The center's staff members informed more than 700 patients who received injections.

Another clinic, the Specialty Surgery Center in Crossville, in Tennessee, is believed to have received shipments of the contaminated drugs as well.

According to the New York Times, health officials say the contamination comes from the actual injections and not the clinics themselves:

"Health officials emphasized that the problem appeared to come from the medication and not the clinics themselves, and that the clinics had immediately cooperated by notifying patients and, in the case of Saint Thomas, shutting down when the outbreak was recognized. But the officials have released few details about the source of the drug, saying the investigation was continuing."

A nationwide recall of the drug, preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate, was announced. The name of the pharmacy and the numbers of the drug released has not been announced by physicians who have declined to name it.

Other medications are also being tested, like numbing agents and antiseptic wipes. No clear cause has been determined yet.

If you are injured due to a recalled product or because of a physician's negligence, you can be entitled to compensation for your losses.

Contact the Accident Attorneys' Group today and find out how much compensation you are entitled to for your losses.

There is much complexity involved in a medical malpractice case, so it is important to contact an attorney who is incredibly knowledgeable about the topic and has plenty of experience.