A substantial number of our nursing home abuse lawsuits derive from the fact that a person developed bed sores during an admission to a nursing home.  Acknowledging the need for a centralized source for information regarding the development of bed sores (also referred to as: pressure sores, pressure ulcers or decubitus ulcers) in a nursing homes, hospital or assisted living facility we have created Bed Sore FAQ.  

Since its inception, we have attempted to assemble answers to the most commonly asked questions related to bed sore prevention, treatment and legal rights.  However, we have also added a steadily updated bed sore article section to the site.  Many of these articles focus on recent developments in that families will find particularly helpful.  Here are some of the most popular Bed Sore FAQ articles from the past few months.

• Tips for Ensuring Your Parent’s Proper Care & Prevent Complications Like Pressure Sores

If you’re an adult child of an elderly parent, you may already know that choosing a proper nursing home can be stressful. Carolyn L. Rosenblatt, nurse and author of the blog AgingParents.com, shares some tips on how to ensure your parent will always remain safe and healthy.

• Pressure Sores Among Most Costly Post-Operative Injuries, Studies Say

Two recent studies published in Health Affairs indicate that post-operative pressure sores are among the most costly injuries caused by medical error, according to MedPageToday.com.

Of the ten costliest medical errors, pressure ulcers ranked No. 2, second only to postoperative infections. Other common errors included infection due to a central venous catheter, infection following a blood infusion, and abdominal hernia. Hospital-acquired pressure ulcers are among the Federal Government’s list of “never events,” or avoidable injuries that should never occur at U.S. hospitals.

• ManorCare Named In Wrongful Death Lawsuit After Patient Developes Pressure Sores During Nursing Home Admission

With more than 500 locations in 33 states, ManorCare remains of the largest nursing home chains in the country. From a financial standpoint, ManorCare is clearly a very profitable operation. In 2006, the last year its profits were disclosed, ManorCare earned $167 million from $3.6 million in sales. In 2007, financial titan, the Carlyle Group purchased the company for a record breaking acquisition of HCR ManorCare in a reported $4.9 billion deal.

• Federal Guidelines Suggest Specific Measures for Preventing and Treating Bed Sores

A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association takes a look at federal bed sore laws enacted in 2004, and how they can help patients today. Using the laws as guideposts, the article explains in detail what hospitals and nursing homes can do to treat and prevent bed sores, or decubitus ulcers.

• Man Charged With Elder Abuse After Mother Dies of Severe Bed Sores

A South Carolina man has been arrested and charged with elder abuse, after his mother died of complications from severe bed sores , Columbia-based WLTX-TV reports.

Eddie Williams, 57, was the primary caregiver for 75-year-old Geneva Roberson, according to WLTX. On March 25, authorities found Roberson trapped in Williams’ home in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Columbia. Roberson had several abrasions on her upper and lower body, and appeared to be suffering from dementia, Richland County deputies said. Roberson died on May 16, after being placed in a Sumter County nursing home by social workers.

• Bed Sores Continue To Plague Patients In Chicago Nursing Homes & Hospitals

Even in large metropolitan areas like Chicago, IL patients in nursing homes, hospitals and other types of senior living facilities continue to suffer from a medical complication that has been around as long as history books have been written— bed sores.

While some facilities suggest that the development of bed sores is an inevitable part of the aging process, the overwhelming majority of circumstances behind the development of bed sores at a medical facility indicate that the facility was simply not doing an adequate job caring for the patient.