Bedsores

Boca Raton Bedsore Lawyer

Bedsores are preventable wounds that when left untreated, can cause severe pain, suffering, and medical complications. Most commonly, bedsores develop in nursing home facilities as a result of patient neglect. However, there is no excuse for bedsores. In fact, Medicare guidelines define bedsores and pressure ulcers as a “never event,” meaning there is no scenario in which they should ever occur.

Unfortunately, many nursing home facilities are plagued by issues—such as understaffing—that create the ideal breeding ground for bedsores to develop. If your loved one has developed a serious bedsore in a nursing home facility or hospital, it’s essential to take legal action. Working with a skilled bedsore lawyer is the best way to ensure their rights are protected. Here is some important information to know about bedsores in Boca Raton.

Know Your Legal Rights Regarding Bedsores in Boca Raton

As soon as you learn that your family member or loved one has developed a bedsore in a medical facility, it’s essential to take action. If the wound is in the early stages, alert a nurse or doctor right away. Be sure to document the bedsore with pictures and keep a detailed record of your conversations with any doctors and nurses. In cases of severe bedsores, it is essential to get your loved one top-notch medical attention as soon as possible to ensure the wound does not pose life-threatening health complications.

Ultimately, any medical facility can be held legally accountable for these preventable wounds. If you have a loved one who has suffered bedsores in a facility, you can pursue legal action by filing a bedsore neglect lawsuit against the facility where the bedsore developed.

What Causes Bedsores?

Bedsores are caused by restricted blood flow in a specific area of the skin. While these pressure ulcers can occur anywhere on the body, the shoulder blades, back of the head, buttocks, and heels are most susceptible to these wounds. Lack of regular movement and poor hygiene are among the biggest contributing factors to bedsores. Often, nursing home residents are at high risk for developing bedsores, as many of them lack mobility and can lack proper hygiene if not cared for properly. While bedsores start out as relatively minor infections, without immediate treatment, they can cause serious medical complications and infections. Some of the severe infections that can be caused by an untreated bedsore include:

• Cellulitis
• Sepsis
• Abscess
• Bone and joint infections
• Coli infection

These are just a few of the complications that can occur from an untreated bedsore.

Medical facilities are required to move patients who cannot move on their own every two hours to offload pressure and in doing so, prevent bedsores. When facility staff fails to reposition patients at designated times and ensure their clothing and bedding are dry, bedsores can develop. This failure of care is referred to as nursing home neglect. Ultimately, it is a facility’s responsibility to hire adequate staff and train them properly. If your loved one has experienced the harmful effects of an untreated bedsore, you can pursue legal action by filing a bedsore lawsuit.

Filing a Bedsore Lawsuit

Medical professionals and healthcare experts agree that there is simply no reason for most bedsores to occur in a healthcare facility. The large majority of bedsores develop as a result of negligence on the part of hospitals or nursing home facilities. And unfortunately, many cases of this neglect go unreported, allowing these facilities to neglect their patients with no consequences. Usually, when a nursing home has a widespread bedsore problem, it is usually a signal of a facility-wide patient neglect problem. By taking action and filing a bedsore lawsuit, you can expose the nursing home’s pervasive problem.

Contact an Experienced Bedsore Attorney in Boca Raton Today

If you have a loved one who has experienced a horrible bedsore, contact a nursing home abuse and neglect attorney to see if you have a potential bedsore lawsuit. At Baker Legal, we understand how frustrating it is to watch a loved one suffer from a preventable bedsore. Our team is dedicated to ensuring justice for our clients who have experienced inexcusable neglect.

Attorney Robert Baker is a Board-Certified civil trial lawyer in Boca Raton who is passionate about helping people recover physically, emotionally, and financially from accidents caused by the negligence of others. He has more than 30 years of experience representing people in the field of personal injury law. Only a handful of personal injury lawyers in Florida have received this status by the Florida Bar for their competency and experience.

For a free, no-obligation consultation, call 561-320-0000 or complete our contact form