A resident at the Meadowbrook Manor in La Grange, Illinois was severely burned. The resident has end stage renal disease, congestive heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He is also 84-years-old. Needless to say, the combination of these factors makes unassisted breathing unlikely. An oxygen tank is constantly present at his bedside.
On July 8th, a certified nurses assistant (CNA) was passing by the resident’s bed when she heard him saying that he was in pain. The CNA saw that the oxygen tank had fallen onto the resident’s lap. The tank was cold to the touch covered with frost indicating that the liquid oxygen had spilled onto the resident’s leg. The area was red and cold to the touch.
Liquid oxygen is an extremely hazardous chemical easily capable of flash freezing skin. The resident’s physician was notified and ordered a special cream to be used to treat the injury. For days the resident waited in great pain while the burn cream never arrived.
In fact, no treatment at all was applied until July 13th, five days later.
It’s hard to imagine how agonizing those days were. Finally, a wound care doctor ordered the resident be sent to a hospital emergency room.
The burn was designated a second degree burn (meaning that the full thickness of skin had been burned.) The dead skin needed to be surgically removed, requiring a painful procedure called “debridement”, and a skin graft was applied.
The resident was hospitalized for 18 days.
If you have a loved one who has been injured in a Chicago area nursing home, and you feel that nursing home neglect was the cause of the injury, contact the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle for a free and confidential evaluation of your case.
Other blog posts of interest:
Resident suffers third degree burns in fall at Sauk Valley Senior Living