Bedsores are also known as pressure ulcers. They occur when skin and underlying tissue are impacted by prolonged pressure and a person who is immobile for a long time isn’t rotated or shifted to reduce the impact on a single location on the body. Bedsores often develop on areas of the body that are bony, like the tailbone and hips. If you realized a loved one has developed bedsores, it is important to take them seriously. They can be a sign of nursing home negligence. And importantly, they can worsen and cause serious, even fatal sepsis. If you or a loved one developed harmful bedsores and you suspect it was preventable, you should give seasoned White Plains nursing home neglect attorney Mark A. Siesel a call.What are Bedsores?
It is important to be alert to the danger of bedsores if you have a loved one in a nursing home in or around White Plains. Signs of bedsores include swelling, tenderness, changes to skin color or texture, the draining of pus, and temperature changes to the skin. Nursing home residents are at particular risk of developing bedsores when they need assistance with moving and staff are not adequately trained in avoiding this possibility.
Those residents who have medical conditions that restrict their ability to shift positions or result in them spending their time in beds or chairs without moving may not get moved as often and may have disproportionate pressure placed on certain bony parts of the body as a result. For instance, if your mother uses a wheelchair, she could develop bedsores on her buttocks, tailbone, or spine, along with any area of the arm or leg that is immobile for long stretches of time against the wheelchair. If your grandfather stays in bed due to mobility issues and is not rotated, he may develop bedsores on his shoulder blade, tailbones, the back of his head or his hips.
White Plains doctors stage bedsores by severity and depth and can be categorized as stage 1, 2, 3, or 4. At one end of the spectrum, bedsores can be mild and stage 1, but sometimes they worsen due to neglect by a nursing home or other caregiver and involve serious skin and tissue damage to muscles and bones. Bedsores that get to stage 2 are often open or blistering; they can be helped by relieving the pressure and cleaning the sore. If they are caught in time, the chances are good there will be a recovery, though it is possible recovery will be impeded by conditions like diabetes that make it harder for the afflicted person to heal.
Stage 3 and 4 bedsores are those that have gotten into deep parts of the skin or fat. At stage 4, there is a serious possibility of death.Liability
Nursing home residents at high risk of developing bedsores due to their limited mobility need to be moved and checked frequently. Staff members should be prepared to move the patient frequently and should be trained to check for sores, particularly when a patient is high risk. Under New York law, nursing home residents have a private right of action under New York Public Health Law section 2801-d when they are injured because the nursing home deprived them of certain rights and benefits specified under federal and state law.
In addition to looking at whether there is a statutory claim, our attorneys will evaluate the situation to determine whether there are claims for negligence, wrongful death, and breach of contract in connection with bedsores.Lawyers to Recover Damages From Bedsores
If our law firm can establish liability, we should be able to recover damages arising out of the injuries caused by bedsores. These are meant to make up for losses rather than punish a wrongdoer. In order to avoid paying compensatory damages under the statute, the nursing home will need to seek a finding that it used all care reasonably necessary to prevent a nursing home resident or patient’s bedsores and the worsening of them. Damages are supposed to be no less than 25% of the daily per-patient rate of payment established for the facility. When there is no established rate for payment, the figured used is the average daily total charges per patient for the facility.
Damages may include surgeries, hospitalization, medical care, emotional distress, pain and suffering, rehabilitation, and out-of-pocket costs. In some cases, a nursing home acts in an intentionally harmful or egregious manner, and in those cases, it may be appropriate to pursue punitive damages.Consult a Seasoned Nursing Home Neglect Law Firm
If your loved one suffered bedsores or died from bedsores due to nursing home negligence in White Plains, you should give Mark A. Siesel a call. Mr. Siesel is a fearless personal injury lawyer with 35 years of experience. He is not afraid to take your case to trial if you are not offered a fair settlement. He represents accident victims in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, along with Westchester, Putnam, Kings, Orange, Dutchess, Sullivan, Rockland, and Ulster Counties. Contact us at (914) 428-7386 or complete our online form.