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If your loved one developed sepsis at a nursing home, you may be able to sue the nursing home for neglect. Because sepsis is often preventable, Georgia state law requires nursing homes to use reasonable care to guard against sepsis and similar infections. If a nursing home or assisted living facility neglects this duty, they can be held responsible for compensating the injured party.
Nursing home residents may develop sepsis for a number of reasons. Other conditions like pressure ulcers and illnesses can lead to infection, which becomes sepsis when it reaches the critical stage. Using catheters, IVs, and similar instruments increases a resident’s chance of developing sepsis.
Unfortunately, these conditions are common in nursing homes, but in the vast majority of cases, sepsis is preventable. By carefully cleaning catheters and IVs, as well as the insertion site in the skin, and limiting their use of these instruments, nursing home staff prevent residents from developing sepsis. Likewise, caregivers should guard against pressure ulcers by ensuring that residents have adequate mobility and can change positions regularly.
Caregivers should also use reasonable caution to protect nursing home residents from coming into contact with other residents, staff, or visitors who might be contagious, especially if a resident already has a compromised immune system or is prone to infection. Nursing homes should treat infections immediately in order to prevent sepsis, and if a resident does develop sepsis, caregivers should administer treatment right away.
By taking these and similar precautions, nursing homes can prevent residents from developing serious infections that lead to sepsis. If a nursing home or assisted living facility fails to take these precautions, and a resident develops sepsis, then that facility is guilty of neglecting its duty to use reasonable care to prevent infection. In such a case, the nursing home may be liable for the consequences of its neglect. This means the facility can be held responsible for medical bills and other related costs, as well as for pain and suffering.
If your loved one developed sepsis 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. 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.
