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Nursing Home Abuse
Charles A. Gilman handles cases for those individuals who have been injured as a result of nursing home negligence. Often, nursing home negligence cases involve claims of neglect or abuse as the result of inadequate and/or improper care. Consequently, serious, and possibly, fatal injuries can incur involving bedsores (or decubiuts ulcers), dehydration, malnutrition, and falls due to lack of supervision. Regardless of age, current medical conditions or past medical history, it is our belief that nursing, rehabilitation and assisted living facilities should be held accountable for the care that they provide residents and patients.
Bedsores or Decubitus Ulcers
The term “bed sores” is derived from the observation that patients who were bedridden and not properly repositioned, would often develop ulcerations or sores on their skin, typically over bony prominences. These bed sores, which result from prolonged pressure, are also called “decubitus ulcers”, “pressure sores,” and “pressure ulcers.”
Despite what you may have been told, with proper care, bed sores can be prevented. Adequate nutrition and timely turning and repositioning of the patient key factors in preventing the development of bedsores. Bedsores are caused by constant pressure on an area of the skin. The pressure tends to be greatest on bony areas where there is less cushioning.
Unfortunately, family members often don’t notice bed sores until they become painful and infected because they are located in areas generally covered by clothing or bed sheets.
Common places for pressure sores include the tailbone (coccyx), the spine, the buttocks, the hip, and the heels. They may also appear on the shoulders, elbows, ankles, and between the knees where the legs rub together.
Pressure sores are more likely to develop persons who are at higher risk due to one or more risk factors. A number of risk factors have been identified which put individuals at higher risk. Once a person is identified as being at increased risk for pressure sores, measures should be undertaken to reduce or eliminate those risks. Thus, healthcare providers and nursing homes must be aware of these risk factors when caring for patients in order to prevent the unnecessary development of pressure sores. While risk factors may vary depending upon the particular circumstances, the following represents a list of the most common:
- Confinement to bed, chair, or wheelchair
- Inability to change positions without help
- Loss of bowel or bladder control
- Poor nutrition and/or dehydration
- Decreased mental awareness.
Bed sores are typically referenced by medical staff in the resident’s records as Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, or Stage 4 (the worst).
Stage I — Initially, a pressure sore appears as a persistent area of red skin that may itch or hurt and feel warm and spongy or firm to the touch. In blacks, Hispanics and other people with darker skin, the mark may appear to have a blue or purple cast, or look flaky or ashen. Stage I wounds are superficial and go away shortly after the pressure is relieved.
Stage II — At this point, some skin loss has already occurred — either in the epidermis, the outermost layer of skin, in the dermis, the skin’s deeper layer, or in both. The wound is now an open sore that looks like a blister or an abrasion, and the surrounding tissues may show red or purple discoloration. If treated promptly, stage II sores usually heal fairly quickly.
Stage III — By the time a pressure ulcer reaches this stage, the damage has extended to the tissue below the skin, creating a deep, crater-like wound.
Stage IV — In the most serious and advanced stage, a large-scale loss of skin occurs, along with damage to muscle, bone, and even supporting structures such as tendons and joints. Stage IV wounds are extremely difficult to heal and can lead to lethal infections.
Bed sores cause pain, infection, tissue and bone damage, and wrongful death . If your loved one shows signs of pain or itching, if you notice the beginning of pressure sores, act quickly. Talk to the lawyers at our nursing home negligence law firm.
Slip & Falls in Nursing Homes
Our firm often sees nursing home malpractice cases arising from injuries related to patients falling out of bed, falling while walking to the bathroom or through the facility, or even being dropped by staff during transfers. According to the Center for Disease Control, about 1,800 nursing home patients each year in the United States die from falls. They also suffer serious orthopedic injuries, like fractured bones and broken hips, which may result in the death of a loved one due to complications from the hip surgery.
Elderly patients are much more frail, and have difficulty walking by themselves. They also can be disoriented due to their medical condition or from certain medications. Other hazards include wet floors, poor lighting, incorrect bed height, insufficient use of bedrails, and improperly fitted or maintained wheelchairs.
Nursing homes and their staffs are supposed to be trained to prevent fall injuries. Unfortunately, many times they are negligent in supervising patients, assisting with transfers, or even being available for a patient who calls from bed and needs to use a bathroom. The patient may feel ignored and attempt to get out of bed without assistance, often leading to a fall.
Patients who suffer injuries due to falls in nursing homes do have legal rights. The patient, or a concerned family member, should contact our firm after a fall accident to investigate the cause of the accident. These injuries may not be well-documented by the facility or the staff and it is necessary to do a full investigation, especially because the patient does not always the ability to remember or describe the incident.
Elopement or Wandering from Facilities
Charles A. Gilman has investigated and taken on cases in which a nursing home or assisted living facility resident wanders from a room to somewhere else in the facility, or even out of the facility itself. Disoriented and confused patients often become injured by falling down steps or suffer serious injuries when they actually walk away from the nursing home and wander away, becoming lost.
In these circumstances, the nursing home or assisted living facility and its employees are often negligent and can be held accountable for the injuries suffered by the resident. The nursing home owes a duty to properly monitor the patient to prevent the patient from wandering away or eloping from the floor or building. Many facilities have alarms that sound when a patient tries to wander out of a back door. Nursing homes are not supposed to restrain patients all the time to prevent wandering, but there are circumstances and times that this may be appropriate. The facility and nursing staff must have the patient properly assessed to determine if the patient is a risk to wander from the floor or outside the facility.
Patients who suffer injuries due to wandering from and in nursing homes do have legal rights. The patient, or a concerned family member, should contact our firm after a fall accident to investigate the cause of the accident. These injuries are often not well-documented by the facility or the staff and it is necessary to do a full investigation, especially because the patient does not always the ability to remember or describe the incident.