Most bed sore lawsuits involve sheer neglect. So much suffering could be avoided if the staff just truly cared.
Bed sores (also called decubitus ulcers, pressure ulcers, or pressure sores) are injuries to the skin and to the underlying tissue. Bed sores typically develop when blood supply to the skin is cut off for more than a few hours. As the skin dies from lack of oxygen, the bed sore begins as a red, painful area, which eventually turns purple.
Nursing Homes Don’t Follow Their Policies
Most nursing homes have really good policies to prevent bed sores from starting and good procedures for controlling those pressure sores that are becoming problematic. It is following the policy is where the nursing facilities struggle mightily. Most facilities have pressure ulcer clinical practice guidelines that mandate keeping the resident clean and dry, turning and repositioning, having a methodical schedule of turning and repositioning, assessing their risk and carefully monitoring the patient’s progress.
Left untreated, which happens in far too many Maryland nursing homes, a bed sore can become infected because it exposes the area to germs and bacteria. A bed sore can become deep, extending into the muscle. Once a bed sore develops, healing is difficult, particularly in nursing home patients who often have other medical issues. Bed sores in nursing home often are very painful and lead to severe complications and even death as a result of infection in the bone or blood.
- Overview of nursing home cases in Maryland
- Sample settlements and jury verdicts in Maryland nursing home wrongful death cases
- How much money can you expect for a bed sore case?
Bedsores can result from a nursing home care taker’s negligence properly treat a patient in a nursing home. Specifically, the injury is often the neglect of failing to turn incapacitated patients, failure to provide an appropriately padded wheelchair, chair or bed, and failure of the nursing home to keep the patient’s skin clean and dry.
The parts of the body at the greatest risk bed sore injuries are the shoulder blades, the base of the spine, and the sides of the knees, heels, hips, back of the head and other areas of the body where there is little fat to provide a cushion. Bed sores are also referred to as pressure sores, pressure ulcers and decubitus ulcers.
What Is So Maddening About Bed Sores
Most medical malpractice cases involve good doctors doing their best who just make mistakes. Nursing home bed sore cases are something else entirely. The primary cause of bed sore injuries and deaths in this country is hospitals and nursing homes simply not caring enough. So many of our clients are so upset because they know it was not just a simple mistake that caused their parent/spouse or sibling to suffer and/or die. Instead, lack of compassion and humanity was a real cause of the harm that was done.
There is no question these are injuries that can largely be avoided just by caring about the people you are treating. This is not splitting atoms. Turning and positioning. That is the name of the game and it is simple.
Getting a Lawyer to Fight for You
Every perspective client that calls Miller & Zois is treated with the utmost respect.
If someone you love has injuries or unknown origin, bed sores, a broken hip or frequent falls and you are suspicions of elder abuse or nursing home negligence, a personal injury lawsuit may be filed on their behalf.
If you believe that you or someone you love has suffered a serious injury as the result of nursing home abuse or nursing home neglect, call our nursing home attorneys at 800-553-8082 or get a free Internet consultation. There are no fees or expenses unless a recovery is obtained in your nursing home case.
- More overview of nursing home cases in Maryland
- What a nursing home lawsuit looks like
- Answers to your bed sore claim questions
- Malpractice frequently asked questions