Bedsores-- A Clear Sign of Nursing Home Abuse
Developing
a bedsore in a nursing home is a clear sign of elder abuse.
Sadly, most people believe the lie that bedsores are normal and to
be expected in a nursing home environment. The truth is that
bedsores are a sign of negligence and nursing homes can be held
responsible for these injuries.
What are bedsores?
Bedsores are the breakdown of skin and tissue resulting from unrelieved pressure on the body. Bedsores are also called decubitus ulcers or pressure sores. These sores usually affect people who are bedridden and stay in the same position for an extended period of time.
How do you get bedsores in a nursing home?
Residents in a nursing home or elder care facility may develop bedsores as the result of:
- nurses or medical staff failing to move and reposition immobile patients every two hours;
- failing to administer proper fluids and nutrition;
- exposure to urine or other moisture, which is usually the result of leaving wet diapers and sheets on the resident for extending periods of time;
- failure of caregivers to notify a physician of a potential bedsore so that appropriate care can be given; and
- basic neglect from understaffed and
improperly trained nursing home staff.
Are bedsores dangerous?
Bedsores can be fatal if they are not given the proper treatment. At the very least, bedsores are painful. If left untreated or not treated properly, bedsores can cause infection, septic shock, gangrene and possibly death.
My loved one developed a bedsore at an NJ or PA nursing home. Do I need a lawyer?
Yes. Employees of nursing homes in New Jersey and Pennsylvania have very strict guidelines for preventing bedsores. If the nursing home staff followed protocol, your loved one would not have developed a bedsore in the first place. The only reason to develop a bedsore under these circumstances would be negligence.
I believe my loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse. How do I get started with an attorney?
If your loved one has developed a bedsore at a nursing home or elder care facility in NJ or PA, call (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey or (215) 567-2380 in Pennsylvania or fill out the form on the left side of the page. You will be contacted by a New Jersey or Pennsylvania nursing home abuse attorney within 12 hours.
Disclaimer: While the use of this website does not form or imply an attorney/client relationship, we will treat all personal information with the strictest confidentiality and will never disclose it to anyone.
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With
offices in Collingswood, New Jersey and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The Mininno
Law Offices' nursing home abuse
attorneys
and bedsore neglect attorneys
proudly serve the following communities:
In
New Jersey:
In
Pennsylvania:
