Elderly nursing home patients often require extensive help with daily care, and some are confined to bed due to their medical conditions. However, they must be repositioned on a regular schedule; otherwise, they may develop bedsores or pressure ulcers. If your loved one has developed such a condition, it is vital to consult a Georgia bedsore lawyer as swiftly as possible, as this is a clear sign of neglect from their caregivers.
Pleasant Law, PLLC, provides compassionate and responsive legal counsel for many types of cases that other lawyers will not accept. Confronting nursing homes and their parent companies with legal action can be incredibly daunting due to the level of legal protection these businesses typically enjoy as a result of massive lobbying efforts. However, such a case is not impossible with the right attorney on your side.
Our firm can work closely with you and your family to help you prove the exact cause of your loved one’s bedsore issue. If you believe they are the victim of neglect, it is important to understand the steps you will need to take to ensure accountability for those responsible. A successful claim can also yield compensation for your family’s damages and provide a sense of closure after a very difficult and emotionally draining experience.
One of the earliest signs of abusive or neglectful nursing home care is the presence of bedsores, sometimes called pressure ulcers or pressure injury. Bedsores are skin ulcers that develop when blood circulation is interrupted or cut off from a certain region of the body for a prolonged period. Initially, bedsores appear to be darkened irritations or rashes on the skin. They can crack, become infected, deepen over time, and potentially cause death if left untreated.
When visiting your loved one in a nursing home, you should regularly check them for bedsores. When you do see bedsores, you should immediately notify the staff and request medical attention. If the bedsores are severe or you suspect that they are the result of regular nursing home neglect and abuse, you should reach out to a nursing home neglect lawyer.
More often than not, bedsores indicate carelessness or negligence on the part of the nursing home. Although bedsores can sometimes be unavoidable due to certain medical conditions, they are far more frequently the result of a nursing home resident being left in one position for too long. Remaining in a single position applies constant pressure to certain areas of the body, which prevents blood from flowing to those regions, leaving the skin cells malnourished and without sufficient oxygen, and eventually damaging them.
Seniors living in nursing homes are more vulnerable to skin damage because their skin does not recover as quickly as it does for younger adults or adolescents. Nevertheless, proper care can still prevent bedsores from forming in elder nursing home patients. Nursing homes have a responsibility to care for their residents, whether it means urging them to move or physically repositioning them if they are unable to do so themselves.
Bedsores commonly appear around the shoulders, spine, tailbone, hips, heels, and other areas of the body that are less protected by fat and muscle. As a result, bedsores can sometimes indicate or be caused by malnutrition, dehydration, and neglect. When patients do not receive the proper nutrients or hydration, it can affect their blood flow, the integrity of their skin, and their fat composition, which could otherwise protect vulnerable areas. Furthermore, when patients are left to sit in moist or soiled clothing, it can weaken the skin and cause infections around the buttocks area. This creates an environment that is conducive to the formation of ulcers.
If your loved one has severe bedsores or is suffering from infections caused by pressure ulcers, call Pleasant Law, PLLC, at (919) 867-5575 or send a message. A Georgia bedsore lawyer will evaluate your situation and work with you to hold the nursing home accountable for its negligence.
Get in touch with Pleasant Law, PLLC, by calling (919) 867-5575 or sending your case information for a free case review by our nursing home abuse lawyer.
Medical professionals divide bedsores into five classifications:
Bedsores first appear as colored or darkened irritations on the skin. They may be red, blue, or purple. The region itself may itch, burn, or be sensitive to the touch.
Second-stage bedsores occur when the ulcers begin to blister, crack, or rupture the skin. You may be able to see shallow wounds or fluid-filled blisters. Ulcers of this stage have already broken down the top layer of skin, killing the skin cells, and have started to damage the second skin layer. Patients will often complain of significantly heightened pain.
Bedsores reach the third stage when the ulcers extend (or “crater”) below the skin, exposing fatty or dead tissue. The areas immediately surrounding the ulcers will begin to raise or curl and become discolored. By this stage, wounds may start to penetrate the muscles.
The fourth stage of bedsores is the most severe. By this point, infections are high-risk and might have already set in. Wounds may be deep enough to expose muscles, tendons, and even bone, and dead tissue may accumulate at the bottom.
Sometimes the topmost area of the ulcer may be covered or filled in with severely damaged tissue or dead skin, hiding the depth of the wound. These are referred to as “unstageable bedsores” because they are difficult to properly diagnose. Exposed areas may be moist and loosened (“slough”) or dry and hardened (“eschar”). They may be brown, yellow, green, or some other darkened color, depending on the exact nature of the wound.
In Georgia Nursing homes have a legal obligation to provide adequate care and treatment to residents. Residents also have the legal right to be free from physical abuse. Proper and attentive care is what patients, their families, and the nursing home agreed to when the patient entered the nursing home facility.
Severe bedsores generally indicate a failure on the part of the nursing home to fulfill the duties owed to the patient. Typically, the root cause of this negligence is a lack of staffing. However, this is no excuse. No person should be left to live with bedsores. They can be extremely painful and can cause a serious infection, which can lead to death. In severe cases, these ulcers may take many months to heal through a rigorous treatment regimen. Cases involving Stage 3, Stage 4, Unstageable or Deep Tissue Injury pressure injuries are almost always worth a full investigation of the medical records.
If your elderly loved one has developed bedsores due to neglect from their caregivers, it is grounds for legal recourse. You have the right to pursue accountability and seek compensation for your family’s losses. Your loved one likely required corrective medical treatment, and the defendant responsible for neglecting them is liable for the cost of all related medical expenses.
It is also possible to hold a defendant accountable for other economic damages and out-of-pocket expenses your family incurred because of their neglect. Additionally, a plaintiff in a personal injury case also has the right to seek compensation for the pain and suffering they experienced. When a defendant caused an injury through egregious negligence or illegal misconduct, punitive damages or restitution may also come into play.
Success with a personal injury case requires accurate identification of the defendant or defendants responsible for your damages and proof of the full extent of those damages. The average person may be able to assess immediately recognizable losses, but they may struggle to calculate the full long-term impact of the injury and what level of pain and suffering compensation they should seek from the defendant.
Once you have determined that your elderly relative is a victim of nursing home neglect, it is crucial that you take them out of the dangerous situation as swiftly as possible and contact a Georgia bedsore lawyer you trust to build a compelling case on your family’s behalf. The team at Pleasant Law, PLLC, is ready to build your case.
It is natural to feel a mix of frustration and uncertainty when you have learned that your elderly loved one has developed bedsores in their nursing home. The right attorney can be an invaluable asset in this situation, and it is important to find one who has proven experience handling cases like yours. Pleasant Law, PLLC, has the expertise to evaluate the details of your case and determine whether a lawsuit should be brought.
Call (919) 867-5575 or send a message if your loved one is suffering from severe bedsores or infected pressure ulcers. Pleasant Law, PLLC, accepts clients from Georgia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee.