Transcript:
Bedsores are a serious injury that can lead to catastrophic problems and death in nursing home residents.
A bedsore is caused by forces acting against the body, including prolonged pressure or shear. When a particular party of the body, most often buttocks, feet, and the back, experiences this type of compression, circulation is degraded and the underlying tissue begins to deteriorate.
Bedsores that have advanced to deep wounds can become a welcome mat for deadly infections. For example, sepsis, a bacterial infection that enters through the skin and into the bloodstream, can send the body into shock. We’ve represented several families who watched as their loved one’s kidneys failed.
Here are some sobering facts about bed sore deaths: According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services responsible for monitoring out country’s health system, in a recent year, bedsores resulted in death in 1 out of every 25 admissions where bedsores were the principal diagnosis. However, where bedsores were the secondary diagnosis, the death rate increased to one in eight.
Almost 30% of long term care facility residents experience a bed sore. Despite this fact, bedsores are almost always preventable. In fact, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will not pay hospitals for treatment of new pressure sores in Medicare patients.
When a preventable bedsore takes the life of a nursing home resident, the family members or estate may bring a wrongful death claim. In fact, over 17,000 wrongful death lawsuits resulting from bed sores are filed annually. These cases are more common than any other single type of nursing home case.
If your loved died after developing pressure ulcers at a nursing home and you are wondering if you have a claim, then please, feel free to call and speak to one of our experienced Georgia nursing home neglect lawyers today. Our consultations are always free. If you would like more information about this topic, be sure to click on our other videos, or better yet, click the subscribe button to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Thank you.
