Many Worcester area residents have had to make the agonizing decision to place their loved one in a skilled nursing facility. There comes a time in many people’s lives that they are no longer able to care for themselves and they need to be in a place where they are safe and well cared for. Nursing homes fulfill these needs for families and help take care of this vulnerable population. But sometimes a nursing home resident is not well cared for and winds up with a dangerous medical condition like bedsores.
A resident of a skilled nursing facility puts a lot of trust in the people who are taking care of them. Unfortunately, they don’t always receive the best care and are at risk of neglect. One form of neglect can be bedsores. Bedsores are also known as pressure ulcers and are skin wounds caused by excess force on the skin. In nursing homes, the main cause of bedsores is neglect.
There are many common causes of bedsores for nursing home residents:
Pressure on the skin
Friction of the skin being moved
Shear, when two different surfaces are moved in different directions
Bedsores due to neglect can happen when a nursing home resident does not receive adequate food or water. They can also happen if a staff member doesn’t move the resident in the proper way and causes friction or if staff doesn’t reposition a resident to prevent excess pressure.
If a family believes their loved one is the victim of bedsores in a nursing facility, they may want to speak with a legal professional who is skilled in personal injury. An attorney can investigate the cause of the bedsores and get answers for a family as to what happened. Compensation may be available for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other damages.
