Why Bed Sores Result in Lawsuits?

Bedsores (also called decubitus ulcers, pressure ulcers, or pressure sores) are painful injuries to the skin and underlying tissue that occur due to prolonged pressure on the skin. They often develop in people who are bedridden, immobile, or confined to a wheelchair for extended periods. Bed sores typically develop when blood supply to the skin is cut off for more than a few hours. As the skin dies from lack of oxygen, the bed sore begins as a red, painful area, which eventually turns purple. Bedsores are a significant concern in healthcare settings like hospitals, nursing homes, and long-term care facilities, as they can lead to serious infections and other health complications if left untreated.

Treatment and Prevention of Bedsores

Preventing bedsores is critical, particularly for patients at high-risk like elderly individuals in nursing homes who can’t move on their own. Effective measures for the prevention of bedsores include:

• Regular Repositioning: Turning patients at least every two hours to relieve pressure.
• Pressure-Relieving Devices: Using specialized mattresses, cushions, and overlays to reduce pressure.
• Skin Care: Keeping skin clean, dry, and moisturized to prevent irritation.
• Nutrition: Ensuring proper hydration and a balanced diet rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals.
• Mobility Aids: Encouraging movement and exercises, even passive range-of-motion exercises, to improve circulation.

Once a bedsore develops, it is categorized into stages 1-4 based on the depth of the wound and its severity. At stage 1 a bedsore is just a superficial wound at the top layer of the skin. As the wound progresses deeper into the tissue beneath the skin it advances to stages 2, 3 and 4. A bedsore at stage 4 has progressed down through the tissue to the muscle and bone. From that point, it will eventually lead to a sepsis infection and death.

Treating bedsores requires prompt action to prevent worsening of the wound. Strategies and treatment options for bedsores include:

• Cleaning and Dressing Wounds: Using sterile solutions and appropriate dressings to keep the wound clean and promote healing.
• Debridement: Removing dead tissue from deeper sores to reduce the risk of infection.
• Antibiotics: Prescribed if there are signs of infection, such as pus, odor, or fever.
• Surgery: In severe cases (Stage 3 or 4), surgical intervention may be necessary to close large wounds.

Bedsores Are Caused By Negligent Care

The primary reason that bedsores generate so many negligence and medical malpractice lawsuits is that bedsores are essentially caused by neglect. Even in an elderly person who is completely immobile, bedsores can still be prevented with diligent and adequate care. As long as the patient is regularly repositioned, bedsores are entirely preventable. When a bedsore does develop, however, the bedsore itself is essentially evidence that nursing home or hospital was negligent because they did not reposition the patient enough to prevent the bedsore from developing.

Nursing Homes Don’t Follow Their Policies

Most nursing homes have really good policies to prevent bed sores from starting and good procedures for controlling those pressure sores that are becoming problematic. It is following the policy is where the nursing facilities struggle mightily. Most facilities have pressure ulcer clinical practice guidelines that mandate keeping the resident clean and dry, turning and repositioning, having a methodical schedule of turning and repositioning, assessing their risk and carefully monitoring the patient’s progress.

Left untreated, which happens in far too many Maryland nursing homes, a bed sore can become infected because it exposes the area to germs and bacteria. A bed sore can become deep, extending into the muscle. Once a bed sore develops, healing is difficult, particularly in nursing home patients who often have other medical issues. Bed sores in nursing home often are very painful and lead to severe complications and even death as a result of infection in the bone or blood.

• Overview of nursing home cases in Maryland
• Sample settlements and jury verdicts in Maryland nursing home wrongful death cases
• How much money can you expect for a bed sore case?

Bedsores can result from a nursing home care taker’s negligence properly treat a patient in a nursing home. Specifically, the injury is often the neglect of failing to turn incapacitated patients, failure to provide an appropriately padded wheelchair, chair or bed, and failure of the nursing home to keep the patient’s skin clean and dry.

The parts of the body at the greatest risk bed sore injuries are the shoulder blades, the base of the spine, and the sides of the knees, heels, hips, back of the head and other areas of the body where there is little fat to provide a cushion. Bed sores are also referred to as pressure sores, pressure ulcers and decubitus ulcers.

What Is So Maddening About Bed Sores

Most medical malpractice cases involve good doctors doing their best who just make mistakes. Nursing home bed sore cases are something else entirely. The primary cause of bed sore injuries and deaths in this country is hospitals and nursing homes simply not caring enough. So many of our clients are so upset because they know it was not just a simple mistake that caused their parent/spouse or sibling to suffer and/or die. Instead, lack of compassion and humanity was a real cause of the harm that was done.

There is no question these are injuries that can largely be avoided just by caring about the people you are treating. This is not splitting atoms. Turning and positioning. That is the name of the game and it is simple.

Settlement Value of Nursing Home Bedsore Cases

The settlement value of bedsore (pressure sore) cases can vary widely depending on several factors, including the severity of the injury, the level of negligence involved, the jurisdiction, and the damages sought by the plaintiff.  In cases where the bedsore is mild (e.g., Stage 1 or 2) and has been treated without long-term complications, the settlement value is typically lower. These cases might settle for amounts ranging from $50,000 to $250,000. If the bedsore progresses to a more severe stage (e.g., Stage 3 or 4), causing extensive tissue damage, infection, or death, the settlement value can increase significantly. Severe cases can result in settlements of $500,000 to $3 million or more, depending on the factors involved.

Bedsore Settlements and Verdicts

Below are summaries of recent nursing home negligence lawsuits involving bedsores. Although all cases are unique, these will provide a general idea of what to expect in terms of settlement value for these cases.

$215,000 Settlement (Pennsylvania, 2024): An elderly nursing home resident developed sacral bedsores that ultimately led to her death from sepsis. The lawsuit claimed that chronic understaffing at the facility resulted in a failure to regularly reposition her to prevent pressure sores. The relatively low settlement value was influenced by the decedent’s advanced age.

$225,000 Settlement (Pennsylvania, 2024): A 54-year-old man passed away from complications due to pressure sores that developed on his right buttock while residing in a skilled nursing facility. The lawsuit filed by his estate alleged negligence, asserting that staff failed to implement pressure sore prevention measures, ignored physician orders, and neglected to regularly reposition him.

$175,000 Settlement (Pennsylvania, 2023): An elderly nursing home resident, unable to communicate and bedridden, was admitted without any skin ulcerations. She later died from sepsis due to bedsores that developed during her stay. The lawsuit alleged that the nursing home staff failed to reposition her regularly to ensure proper circulation and prevent ulcers. The estate claimed the staff also neglected to perform routine skin checks, failed to provide a low-pressure air mattress, did not notify physicians when sores developed, and delayed consulting a wound care specialist.

$9,000,000 Verdict (Maryland, 2023): An elderly pastor was admitted to a nursing home after a stroke left him partially disabled. He suffered severe neglect, with staff failing to reposition him regularly. This neglect resulted in the development of a bed sore that progressed to a sepsis infection, ultimately leading to his death. A Baltimore County jury awarded $9 million; however, this amount will be reduced in accordance with Maryland’s cap on non-economic damages.

$250,000 Settlement (Illinois, 2023): An 89-year-old nursing home resident passed away due to an infection stemming from multiple pressure sores. The estate filed a lawsuit alleging that the nursing home failed to properly assess her risk for developing bedsores and did not provide the prescribed wound care. The case was promptly settled.

$30,912,000 Verdict (California, 2023): An 86-year-old man, recovering from hip surgery, was placed in a nursing facility for a two-week stay. During that time, he developed two severe heel pressure sores, including a stage IV ulcer that exposed bone. He endured significant pain and complications for nearly a year before his death. The lawsuit argued that the facility was negligent in failing to prevent the sores by not repositioning him regularly. This case highlights the significant financial risk nursing homes face when choosing to let a jury decide their liability.

$650,000 Settlement (South Carolina, 2021): An elderly man developed a pressure sore while at the defendant hospital, which worsened into additional necrotic sores after being transferred to a defendant-assisted care facility. The wounds ultimately led to sepsis, resulting in his death. The lawsuit claimed that both the hospital and the nursing home were negligent for failing to reposition him every two hours and for not ensuring adequate nutrition. The case was settled, with each defendant contributing half.

$75,000 Verdict (Florida, 2020): An elderly male nursing home resident developed a pressure sore on his right heel that progressed to gangrene, leading to a systemic infection. He sued the nursing home, accusing it of negligence for allowing the sore to develop and worsen. The nursing home argued that his pre-existing vascular disease was the primary cause of the infection.

Getting a Lawyer to Fight for You

If someone you love has injuries or unknown origin, bed sores, a broken hip or frequent falls and you are suspicions of elder abuse or nursing home negligence, a personal injury lawsuit may be filed on their behalf.

If you believe that you or someone you love has suffered a serious injury as the result of nursing home abuse or nursing home neglect, call our nursing home attorneys at 800-553-8082 or get a free Internet consultation. There are no fees or expenses unless a recovery is obtained in your nursing home case.

• More overview of nursing home cases in Maryland
• What a nursing home lawsuit looks like
• Answers to your bed sore claim questions
• Malpractice frequently asked questions