An infected bed sore nearly cost one resident his life at the Regency Rehabilitation Center in Niles, Illinois. The resident, an 85-year-old man, developed a bed sore at the facility that became septic and required a surgical debridement.
As a bed sore lawyer, I get frustrated when a nursing home resident develops any bed sore at a nursing home, but when that wound requires a surgical debridement, it’s particularly upsetting.
A debridement is an extremely painful process where the dead skin of a wound is scraped and cut away. Needless to say, in order to ensure that all of the dead (also known as necrotic) tissue is removed, layers of healthy tissues are sacrificed.
Bed sores, also known as pressure ulcers, are a condition caused when a nursing home resident is forced to go long hours sitting or laying in the same condition. Poor nutrition and hydration as well as damp conditions are also contributing factors to the development of bed sores.
The causes of bed sores are well known, so there is no reason for any nursing home resident to develop these painful and potentially lethal injuries. Nor is there any legitimate reason why a pre-existing bed sore should deteriorate to the point where an invasive surgical debridement is necessary.
The Regency Rehabilitation nursing home resident not only developed bed sores at the facility, but those sores became so serious that hospitalization and surgery were the only options.
In addition, Regency Rehabilitation failed to properly notify the family of the resident’s status. According to Illinois nursing home code, family members must be notified of any change in condition. Yet the victim’s son was never notified about any of the multiple bed sores that had developed on his mother until she was transferred to the hospital.
If you have a loved one who has developed bed sores in an Illinois nursing home, contact our Chicago nursing home lawyers for a free and confidential evaluation of your case. Bed sores are one of the primary indicators of nursing home neglect. At my law offices we have experience with all aspects of a bed sore lawsuit.
Other blog posts of interest:
Neglect leads to bed sores at Breese Nursing Home