New York Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers for Bedsores or Pressure Ulcers

One early red flag that your loved one is being neglected in a nursing home is the appearance of pressure ulcers on their body. More commonly known as bedsores, they are easily prevented. All that the care provider requires is just a moderate degree of intervention. If left untreated, bedsores can lead to serious consequences and even death. If you spot bedsores on your loved one, this may be a sign of serious nursing home abuse. Contact the experienced New York nursing home abuse attorneys at Hach & Rose, LLP if you suspect your loved one has been the victim of a nursing home or assisted living abuse. Our Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers for Bedsores or Pressure Ulcers have extensive experience in helping people win the compensation they deserve.

Call us at (212) 779-0057 or fill out the online contact form to set up a free case consultation. We have helped countless New Yorkers recover the compensation they deserve from nursing home abuse.

What Are Bedsores or Pressure Ulcers?

Bedsores can develop when a person is immobile, bedridden, unable to feel pain, or unconscious. They can occur on areas of the skin that receive pressure from a wheelchair, lying in a bed, or even wearing a cast for a long time. Other names for bedsores are pressure ulcers, pressure injuries, pressure sores, or decubitus ulcers.

Frail, older adults are at particular risk for developing bedsores. Standard care to prevent bedsores for someone immobile or bedridden is to be positioned correctly. Those confined to a wheelchair should be repositioned every fifteen minutes, and those confined to bed should be repositioned every hour or two. The skin should be inspected daily and kept dry and clean, and good nutrition should be provided so proper levels of minerals and vitamins are maintained. Special cushions, mattresses, pads, and beds can relieve pressure on the skin. Also, better circulation can be achieved by daily exercise.

If the blood supply to the skin is cut off for more than two to three hours, bedsores can develop. A bedsore will start as a red, painful area. Eventually, it will turn purple. If left untreated, the area can get infected as the skin breaks open.

Bedsores can extend into the muscle and bone if they become deep. Once they develop, bedsores can take a very long to heal: days, months, or even years. The time needed to recover from bedsores depends on the severity of the condition and the health of the person affected. Other diseases, such as diabetes, may slow the healing process.

What to Look Out For

The symptoms of bedsores can be divided into four stages. They are:

• Stage One: The area feels warm and looks red, purple, or blue. The area may burn, itch, or hurt.
• Stage Two: The afflicted person may report significant pain. The area may have an open sore, blister, or scrape and generally appear more damaged. Discoloration may occur around the wound.
• Stage Three: Due to damage below the skin’s surface, the area has a crater-like appearance.
• Stage Four: A large wound exists, and the area has become severely damaged. Beneath the surface, tendons, bones, and muscles can be involved. There is a high risk of infection at this stage.

You should take action if your family member has bed sores or shows any other signs of abuse or neglect. A legal case should be initiated immediately. To ensure the safety of your loved one, move them to another nursing home or have them admitted to the hospital. If feasible, you can move them in with a family member.

Our New York nursing home abuse lawyers have dealt with countless cases of nursing home abuse, including those related to bedsores.

How Do Bedsores Happen in a Care Facility?

Bedsores or pressure ulcers should not be a problem in a well-managed, professional setting. Unfortunately, many facilities demonstrate a serious lack of adequate care. Simple understaffing is the most common reason bedsores occur in care facilities. This is not a valid excuse. These facilities are charged with caring for your loved one, and it is their responsibility to be properly staffed.

In other cases, care facilities don’t properly oversee or train their staff. They fail to offer residents proper nutrition or hygiene and cut corners in other ways. These facilities are trying to maximize profits at the expense of your loved one’s health and safety.

When you hold a negligent nursing home accountable, you send a powerful message that this is unacceptable treatment for your loved one and others.

It can be devastating when you suspect that your cherished loved one has been the victim of abuse. You placed your family member in one of these facilities to provide them with quality care. At Hach & Rose, LLP, we take nursing home abuse seriously and fight tirelessly for the justice you and your loved one deserve.

Call Hach & Rose, LLP Immediately

With well over 100 years of combined legal experience, the abuse and neglect attorneys of Hach & Rose, LLP are among the top-rated attorneys in New York. Our successful settlements and verdicts are a testament to how much we’ve helped hundreds of clients recover significant damages. Our excellent reputation is one of the reasons we have been selected for the New York Super Lawyers list, the Top 40 under 40 trial attorneys list, and the New York Super Lawyers Rising Stars list. We were also named to the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

We will seek to hold a neglectful nursing home liable for your loved one’s injuries and losses, including pain and suffering, medical costs, and loss of quality of life. Paying the financial costs of being a victim of nursing home abuse should not be your responsibility. Any nursing home that mistreats its residents should be held accountable.

New York public health laws have specific provisions to protect nursing home residents from neglect and abuse. Contact us today by calling (212) 779-0057, and let us help you get the justice you deserve.