Nursing Home Neglect Leads To Bed Sores At Lake Forest Place | The Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C.

A resident of the Lake Forest Place nursing home in Lake Forest, Illinois developed multiple bed sores including an unstageable bed sore (the worst designation) while a resident at the facility. Bed sores, also known as pressure ulcers, are clear evidence of nursing home neglect.

The resident is a 74-year-old woman with several conditions that left her temporarily immobilized including a hip replacement, knee surgery, and arthritis. At the time of her admission, the nursing home performed a standard skin assessment and declared her free of any bed sores.

Just two months later, the woman had 2 pressure ulcers – an unstageable pressure ulcer on her foot and a Stage 4 pressure ulcer on her hip and buttocks. A third bed sore developed a few months later. The Wound Care Nurse at Lake Forest Place told an investigator that she was not made aware of this wound until it was already unstageable.

The Plan of Care stipulated that the woman was to be repositioned every 2 hours while in bed and every hour when seated in a wheelchair. According to the Treatment Administration Records, Lake Forest Place staff did not carry out these repositionings.

Bed sores are clear evidence of nursing home neglect because they are the culmination of days or weeks of neglect in all facets of standard nursing home care. Bed sores develop when a resident is allowed to remain in one spot for hours. Poor nutrition and hydration are also known contributing factors as is consistent dampness.

There’s no easy cure for bed sores, either. In addition to meticulous cleaning and antibiotic treatments, the patient must be kept dry, well fed and hydrated, and weight must be kept off of the wound. Without all of these factors, a bed sore will never heal. Even with these treatments, bed sores take a long time to heal and are often fatal.

Bed sores should never develop in a nursing home or a hospital. The staff at Lake Forest Place was clearly not doing their job adequately. Bed sores aren’t viruses or infections with unknown origin. The cause is well known: nursing home neglect.

One of our core beliefs is that nursing homes are built to fail due to the business model they follow and that unnecessary injuries and illnesses and wrongful deaths of residents are the inevitable result. Order our FREE report, Built to Fail, to learn more about why. Our experienced Chicago nursing home lawyers are ready to help you understand what happened, why, and what your rights are. Contact us to get the help you need.