A previous post on this blog talked about what families in the Kansas City area can do if their loved one in a nursing home or other assisted living facility, or even in an in-home care program, winds up getting neglected or abused. The upshot was that, in addition to reporting the misconduct to regulators, families can consider filing a personal injury case against those responsible.
One of the more common signs of nursing home abuse are neglect are bedsores. To some extent, occasional bedsores are hard to avoid and will just need treatment, but a pattern of a patient’s having bedsores is a sign that the nursing home, for whatever reason, simply is not providing adequate care to the patient. Likewise, bedsores that wind up getting infected and thus causing serious and sometimes irreparable damage are signs of medical neglect.
Proper care can go a long way in preventing bedsores or, at least, reducing the chances that they will cause any serious injuries. For instance, since immobility causes bedsores, nursing home staff must regularly move patients who are confined to a chair or to bed. This reduces the pressure on the patient’s body that contributes to bedsores.
Likewise, a good diet and getting plenty of water helps prevent bedsores. This is obviously the responsibility of those caring for the patient.
Bedsores are a lot more than just painful swellings on one’s skin. They can cause cancer and also serious infections. Those who suffer from this condition because of poor medical care should be entitled to receive compensation for their losses.
