Bedsore Negligence

When bedsores occur, it’s usually medical malpractice.

Bedsores—also known as pressure wounds, pressure injuries, or pressure ulcers—are an all-too-common occurrence in hospitals, nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities. An estimated 2.5 million bedsore events occur in the U.S. every year and, sadly, 60,000 deaths are attributed to complications from bedsores. All patients and their families should understand that bedsores are not inevitable and can be prevented. Improper patient care resulting in bedsores is a violation of the standard of care – a critical determinant in a medical malpractice case.

BEDSORES ARE SERIOUS, BUT PREVENTABLE

Over 60% of bedsores occur in patients over 70 years old and more than 1 in 10 nursing home residents suffer from bedsores.  But anyone can develop bedsores, not just the elderly in nursing homes.  Anyone who can’t shift their body and redistribute their weight for a prolonged period is susceptible. Heels, hips and tailbones are common areas where they form, when constant pressure on the skin cuts off blood flow. This causes the skin and tissue to die and, without treatment, the wounds worsen, eventually breaking the skin and becoming open wounds, and tunneling downward through subcutaneous muscle, fat, and other tissue. In severe cases, these wounds can become infected, leading to sepsis and death.

BEDSORES ARE A “NEVER EVENT”

Bedsores cases are tragic but preventable. If appropriate pressure wound prevention protocols are applied, pressure wounds should not occur. In fact, Medicare denies payment to facilities to treat bedsores that develop at the facility because it considers pressure wounds to be a “never event,” that is, bedsores should not occur in the first place. The National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel, an independent, non-profit organization, the American Medical Association, and dozens of other authoritative health care organizations offer detailed protocols for the prevention of bedsores, which generally involve scheduled and regular repositioning of bed bound patients, and other steps to minimize or eliminate pressure, friction and shear.

BEDSORES OCCUR FROM NEGLECT

Bedsores occur when prevention protocols are not followed, like when staff might fail to regularly turn or reposition the patient. Staff may also neglect to observe or document the early stages of bedsores, delaying treatment which causes the bedsore to progress to a more serious condition. Patients and their families should know that that negligence is actionable.

CASE EXAMPLE:  SEVERE BEDSORES. HOSPITALS DENY LIABILITY.

A recent bedsore case at Frei, Mims & Perushek is a horrible and glaring example of how hospitals’ negligent patient care results in devastating and painful wounds, requiring lengthy treatment. Following surgery and a brief ICU stay, a woman spent 29 days in the hospital where she developed bedsores on her sacrum and heel. Then she spent 22 days at a rehabilitation facility, where, instead of her wounds improving, her wounds worsened and became severe. Despite her condition, the facility discharged her to home. She immediately returned to a second hospital for 15 days, followed by yet another two weeks at a rehabilitation hospital. After discharge and months of at-home nursing care, her wounds ultimately healed. All this for what Medicare labels a “never event.

HOW TO SUCCEED IN A BEDSORE MALPRACTICE CASE

The original hospital and rehab facility both denied liability for the woman’s injuries. Our team reviewed thousands of pages of medical records and took depositions of multiple healthcare providers associated with the patient in order to establish what did and did not happen. The first hospital failed to assess and document her skin condition, and the rehab facility then failed to follow bedsore protocols for repositioning and turning the patient.

This truth helped us negotiate a favorable settlement for our client.

EXPERIENCE MATTERS IN MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASES

Significant experience in dealing with hospitals, health care facilities, and their insurance companies matters in a bedsore case. Handling a bedsore medical malpractice case requires a deep understanding of medical records, how facilities manage those records, what protocols and policies are in place at those facilities, and how insurance companies operate. Further, it requires the kind of hands-on experience that only comes from years of pursuing complicated medical malpractice cases. That’s what Frei, Mims & Perushek offers.