Bedsores Can Be a Sign of Nursing Home Neglect

A patient lying in a medical bed


Your loved one is in a nursing home because he or she needs the specialized care and services it offers in order to live his or her fullest life. If instead, he or she is the victim of nursing home negligence, the results can be devastating. Nursing home negligence is often difficult to detect until the results identify themselves, and bedsores are a common warning sign. If your aging relative has suffered harm as a result of nursing home negligence, it’s time to consult with an experienced nursing home abuse and neglect attorney who serves both Texas and New Mexico. 


Bedsores

Bedsores are a somewhat old-fashioned sounding name for what the Mayo Clinic calls pressure ulcers that are caused by too much exposure to direct pressure in a specific spot and that lead to external damage as well as damage to the underlying tissue. Bedsores are most common to the body’s bonier areas, such as the tailbone, hips, ankles, and heels. People who have difficulty moving freely into comfortable positions when seated or lying down are especially vulnerable to bedsores, and many residents of nursing homes fit this classification. Nursing homes are obviously aware of this problem and are responsible for addressing the risk appropriately. 


What to Look For

There are a variety of physical signs and signals that are often indicative of emerging bedsores, including:

  • If your loved one’s skin in a specific area undergoes a change in color, texture, and/or temperature (becoming either cooler or warmer)

  • If your loved one experiences unexplained swelling and/or tenderness in a specific area

  • If your loved one has pus-like drainage around any of his or her bony areas 

If bedsores begin to form and aren’t carefully treated from the outset, they can develop into a sore that is far more dangerous, difficult to treat, and susceptible to very serious infections. 


Bedsores Are Not a Normal Part of Nursing Home Living

While your aging loved one who lives in a nursing home is far more vulnerable to bedsores than most of us are, this is one of the important reasons that he or she lives in a nursing home to begin with, and it is not a reasonable excuse for why the nursing home failed to prevent the bedsores in the first place. Not every bedsore can be prevented, but nursing homes are responsible for providing necessary care, and this includes providing those residents who need it help with positioning and repositioning themselves throughout the day and night. Failing to do so can amount to nursing home negligence.  


An Experienced Nursing Home Negligence and Abuse Attorney Can Help

The compassionate nursing home abuse attorneys at Salam & Associates – proudly serving both Richardson, Texas, and Las Cruces, New Mexico – dedicate their practice to helping clients like you help their loved ones who are victims of negligent nursing home practices. To schedule your free consultation and learn more, please don’t wait to contact or call us at 866-640-8998 today.

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