A urinary tract infection can be a sign of nursing home neglect. In some cases, UTIs are unavoidable, but in many cases, nursing homes can prevent UTIs from developing in their residents by taking the right precautions.
Because of their compromised immune systems, elderly people are more at risk for developing UTIs and other infections. Elderly people are also more likely to develop a urinary tract infection if they have diabetes, bowel incontinence, or kidney stones. Similarly, if they have recently had surgery in an area around the bladder, or if they have limited mobility, they stand a greater risk of infection. Accordingly, nursing homes should take extra care of residents who fit this description. Because these factors are widely known to increase the risk of infection, nursing homes have no excuse for neglecting residents in these situations.
Nursing homes can do many things to prevent residents from developing urinary tract infections. For one thing, they should make sanitation a top priority in their facility, and ensure that both residents and staff have ample opportunities to wash their hands. Caregivers need to help patients keep their genital areas clean and dry and change their underclothes at least once a day; otherwise the facility is guilty of neglect.
Additionally, urinary catheters have been proven to increase the risk of developing a urinary tract infection, so nursing homes should be careful about using catheters, especially with patients who already have a high risk of developing UTIs.
Nursing homes have a legal duty to use reasonable care to prevent UTIs from developing in their residents. UTIs are sometime unavoidable, which means that a nursing home may take all the right measures and still fail to protect a patient from infection. In many cases, though, UTIs can be prevented through reasonable care and attention.
If a nursing home neglects these measures, and a resident develops a urinary tract infection, then that facility may be liable for the consequences. This means that the nursing home may be responsible for medical bills, out-of-pocket expenses, and pain and suffering.
If your loved one developed a UTI at a nursing home or assisted living facility, and you are wondering if you have a claim, please feel free to call and speak to one of our experienced Georgia nursing home neglect lawyers today. 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.
