Chicago Nursing Home Bedsores Lawyer

Is Your Family Member Suffering From Bed Sores Due to Nursing Home Abuse or Negligence?

If someone you love contracts a bed sore while residing in a Chicago-area nursing home or long-term care facility, they are likely a victim of nursing home abuse or negligence. You may need help filing a negligence suit against a nursing home to pursue compensation for failing to prevent or adequately treat bedsores.

If so, contact the nursing home abuse attorneys at Abels & Annes, P.C.  When you call, a Chicago bedsore lawyer will determine if we can assist you in obtaining compensation for the injury suffered by your loved one.

Nursing Home Residents Often Suffer Preventable Bedsores

Unfortunately, bedsores, also known as pressure sores, pressure ulcers, or decubitus ulcers, are common injuries suffered by nursing home residents as a result of nursing home neglect.

Bedsores are caused by prolonged pressure upon the skin by the weight of an individual’s body. They are typically located in bony areas such as elbows, heels of the feet, shoulders, hip bones, lower back, and the back of the skull. This is where the brunt of one's body weight presses down on a bed surface and restricts blood flow to important areas of the body.

The Elderly are Most Likely to Experience a Bed Sore

As indicated by the term “bedsores,” this injury is particularly prevalent in individuals with limited mobility and serious medical conditions who must stay in bed, such as the elderly and infirm. Elderly individuals who remain in a stationary position with prolonged pressure on one area of their body for an extended period may acquire bedsores.

Usually, those most prone to developing bedsores are people who are confined to a bed or a wheelchair without the ability to shift positions. Bedsores are preventable if the person is physically moved by nursing home staff to relieve the sustained pressure on these specific parts of the body.

In the context of a nursing home, proper care to avoid bedsores demands that residents with limited mobility receive consistent monitoring of their pressure points. Their bodies need to be moved regularly to shift their weight (for example, by turning the individual over from a supine to a prone position) so that bedsores do not develop.

Indeed, it is reasonable to presume that bedsores in a nursing home patient are the very definition of neglect. This is because the vast majority of bedsores are preventable. At a minimum, nursing homes should have sufficient equipment and staffing to monitor and care for their residents with severely limited mobility and make sure they are physically moved. (Note: in limited situations, such as where moving a patient may cause more serious injuries than bedsores or where the patient is grossly obese, it is possible that acquiring bedsores may be unavoidable.)

Yet, despite the fact that bedsores may be avoided by the relatively simple preventative measure of changing a patient’s body position, a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control concluded that one in ten nursing home patients suffers from bedsores. Further, another study estimates that up to 28 percent of nursing home patients contract bedsores.

If your loved one is experiencing inadequate care in a Chicago nursing home, contact one of the Chicago bed sore lawyers and nursing home neglect attorneys at Abels & Annes, P.C., to pursue just compensation for your elderly loved one's medical condition and associated damages.

Nursing Home Bedsores Are a Serious Medical Problem

While the term “bedsore” may seem relatively benign, bedsores are anything but harmless. Nearly one million people develop bedsores every year in the United States, and they require immediate medical attention. Depending upon their severity, bed sores can lead to serious or even fatal conditions without proper treatment.

Almost 60,000 individuals die as a result of infections and complications relating to bedsores every year. When it comes to the elderly, bedsores can be a grave and extremely painful problem. This is especially true when someone is contending with other medical conditions. Pressure ulcers often require stressful, unpleasant, and costly medical care. Three out of four individuals who suffer from bedsores are at least 70 years of age.

The Severity of Bedsores Can Vary

As noted above, bedsores vary in degree of seriousness, and the medical profession has broken them down into four stages of severity:

• The least severe stage (stage 1) causes the skin to become red.
• As the sore progresses to stage 2, the skin loses some of its thickness. Also, the sore can appear as an abrasion or blister. It can even create a small shallow crater in the skin.
• At stage 3, the sore causes the loss of one full thickness of skin and appears as a deep crater.
• In stage 4, the loss of skin thickness may expose muscle or skin, creating an open wound that is highly painful and susceptible to infection, including life-threatening infections such as gangrene, osteomyelitis, and sepsis.

Pressure ulcers can cause pus discharge, emit a foul odor, and cause fever. A stage 4 bedsore can take many months to heal. It may even require amputation of a part of the body. Further, despite treatment and the eventual healing of the sore, a serious bedsore can cause permanent damage to the skin and the underlying tissue or muscle.

Some Nursing Home Residents Are More Likely to Acquire a Bed Sore and Therefore Need an Increased Level of Care

Limited mobility is the primary culprit leading to bedsores. Some nursing home patients may be bedridden, unconscious, partially or fully paralyzed, or wheelchair-bound. They are the most likely candidates for bedsores.

However, other conditions may also contribute to a patient’s likelihood of getting bedsores. Therefore, these conditions should trigger caregivers to provide additional attention to these patients for bedsores:

• Patients who are unable to feel pain or other sensations in specific parts of their bodies
• Residents with reduced mental capacity or awareness, who may not be capable of alerting staff to physical problems
• Patients who suffer from any level of incontinence (where moisture and bacteria can add to the deterioration of the skin tissue that is under pressure)
• Those with a recent significant weight loss due to poor nutrition intake;
• Patients who become dehydrated
• Residents taking multiple medications

Bedsore Prevention Measures

Given these known factors, nursing home care should, at a minimum, assess patients based on these risk factors. Further, a responsible nursing care facility should provide the following for their patients:

• Appropriate hydration (dehydration is a serious issue in nursing homes)
• Adequate and complete nutrition
• Frequent repositioning and monitoring of patient postures
• Regular bathing and other personal hygiene care, including monitoring incontinence, using devices that assist incontinent patients, and prompting changing of clothes or bed linens that become soiled or moist from urine, sweat, or feces
• Proper positioning in beds, chairs, and wheelchairs, utilizing additional support devices, if necessary
• Thorough education and training of staff on awareness and prevention of bedsores

A Chicago Nursing Home Bedsores Lawyer Can Help You Recover Damages For Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

As noted above, the vast majority of bedsore injuries are completely preventable. Therefore, nursing home caregivers have a special duty to care for their patients to prevent bedsores. Consequently, if a family member develops bedsores at a nursing home in the Chicago area, you should seek legal help as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, since bedsores are an indication of neglect, it is also possible that your family member may also be suffering from some other form of abuse or neglect at a nursing home facility. You should act promptly to defend and enforce their rights and protect them from further harm.

At the Law Firm of Abels & Annes, P.C., we are familiar with all forms of nursing home abuse and neglect. Further, we can assist you with a case involving bedsores or any other injury that may lead to liability. Nursing homes owe a special legal duty of care to the patients who are under their care. We take the need to protect nursing home patients seriously. Especially those who are often physically, emotionally, financially, and mentally vulnerable and desperately need an advocate.

The nursing home negligence attorneys at Abels & Annes, P.C. may be able to help you. Call (312) 924-7575 for a free consultation with a Chicago bedsore attorney.  Remember, you will not pay any legal fees unless there is a recovery of damages for you.

If you suspect nursing home neglect or find a bed sore on your loved one, call Abels & Annes, P.C. today at (855) LAW-CHICAGO or Contact Us online for a free case consultation.