Nursing Home Neglect Can Lead to Dangerous Bedsores

 Posted on February 06, 2022 in Personal Injury

Nursing homes help keep our loved ones safe when they can not care for themselves. Sadly, understaffing and other issues can lead to substandard care in nursing home facilities. Sometimes this substandard care escalates into neglect or abuse of residents. One significant issue that poses a great risk to residents’ health is bedsores. Bedsores, or decubitus ulcers, are wounds that develop on skin exposed to excessive periods of pressure. In addition to being painful, these sores can lead to serious and even fatal medical complications.

How Do Bedsores Develop?

Bedsores almost always develop on people with limited mobility. Individuals with full mobility can get up and move around, which relieves pressure on body parts and encourages blood flow. However, nursing home residents who cannot sit up, stand, or walk on their own may be in one position for long periods of time. This can cause bedsores to form on the body parts that are under pressure. Bedsores often form on the tailbone, back, backs of feed, and back of the head.

How Can Bedsores Be Prevented?

Nursing home staff can prevent bedsores by moving residents who cannot move themselves. For example, they can help residents roll over or move residents from a bed to a wheelchair. Unfortunately, repositioning residents is a responsibility that often gets neglected. If a bedsore forms, it begins as a red patch of skin. If the pressure is not relieved, the bedsore becomes a discolored sore or blister. Bedsores can eventually become deep craters in the skin that damage the muscles and bones underneath.

Consequences of Untreated Bedsores

If a bedsore is not addressed, it gets worse and worse. Bedsores can become infected and the infection can spread to the surrounding tissues. Stage 4 bedsores can lead to sepsis, a life-threatening condition. When nursing home staff neglect residents, the residents suffer physically and mentally. Nursing home negligence like this is unacceptable. If you or a loved one suffered from an undiagnosed or mistreated bedsore, contact a nursing home injury attorney to discuss your legal options. You may able to seek justice and financial compensation for the unnecessary suffering.

Contact a Elmhurst Nursing Home Neglect Lawyer

Bedsores may be a sign that a nursing home resident is not being properly cared for. If you or someone you care about has been the victim of nursing home neglect or abuse, contact an Elk Grove Village personal injury attorney from Kaiser Law. Call 630-274-4400 for a confidential consultation.

Source:

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/bedsores#:~:text=Bedsores%20are%20ulcers%20that%20happen,problem%20among%20frail%20older%20adults.