Elder Law

Nursing Home Lawsuit Filed After Victim Develops Pressure Ulcers

By Levin & Perconti

A victim of nursing home neglect has filed a lawsuit after she experienced unnecessary pain from a pressure sore on her lower backside. The pressure ulcer had grown to the width of a grapefruit and was an inch deep, according to The Arizona Daily Star. Additionally, the bedsore had eaten through muscle and bone on the victim?s body. The victim has since filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the nursing home.

The resulting pressure sore may have been the result of poor staffing levels. This also may have contributed to a wheelchair fall that the victim sustained, causing her head, arm and leg wounds. After this fail she was transferred to a medical hospital. The severely infected pressure sores that she developed caused her sepsis and eventually her death. The victim?s family is contending that if she would have been adequately turned and repositioned that her pressure sores would have been prevented or minimized. This would have most likely minimized the risk of infection. To read more about this specific pressure ulcer case, please click the link.

Pressure ulcers are much easier to prevent than to heal. Therefore, nursing homes most check a patient?s skin several times a day and make sure it is dry. It is also imperative that a nursing home patient?s skin be kept clean. This can be done with a mild soap and warm water. Nursing home employees should also gently pat the skin dry. To learn more about the causes of pressure sores, please check out the link.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on April 16, 2010 (boomark / email).