A study by Gosnell and VanEtten finds that pressure ulcers affect approximately 1 million Americans each year. The overwhelming majority of these patients are residents in a care facility, especially elders in a nursing home. Knowing and recognizing the signs of pressure ulcers is your loved ones’ best defense against the neglect that leads to… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Sepsis
Subscribe to Sepsis RSS FeedNursing Home Staff To Receive More Training On Patient Toileting Needs
Posted in Bed Sores, Pressure Sores, Decubitus Ulcers & Pressure Ulcers, SepsisA particularly disturbing trend in the nursing home industry remains the wide-spread use of undergarments amongst ‘healthy’ nursing home patients. In other words, patients who have bladder and bowel control, being forced to use undergarments as opposed to being allowed to use the toilet. In addition to the incredibly dehumanizing aspect of the practice, encouraging… Continue Reading
Sepsis Lawsuit Alleges Caregivers Neglect To Blame For Patient’s Death
Posted in Bed Sores, Pressure Sores, Decubitus Ulcers & Pressure Ulcers, SepsisThe family of a deceased woman has filed a lawsuit against a large health care company that was responsible for maintaining her health. The lawsuit names Addus Healthcare as a defendant in two count complaint alleging that the companies negligence during a short-term stay, resulted in numerous medical complications that contributed to the patients death. … Continue Reading
Pressure Sores Continue To Be A Viscious Sign Of Neglect At Medical Facilities
Posted in Bed Sore Lawsuit, Bed Sores, Pressure Sores, Decubitus Ulcers & Pressure Ulcers, Debridement, Hospital Bed Sores, Osteomyelitis, Sepsis, Stages of Bed SoresContrary to what some medical facilities suggest, the development of pressure sores during an admission to a facility is not an inevitable part of getting older or something that simply coincides with some medical conditions. Rather, pressure sores are overwhelmingly the result of inattentive care on the part of the facility. After all, the prevention… Continue Reading
Tennessee Court Helps Establish Standard Of Care In Nursing Home Negligence Cases
Posted in Bed Sore Lawsuit, Bed Sores, Pressure Sores, Decubitus Ulcers & Pressure Ulcers, Litigation, SepsisAn important court decision Tennessee Supreme Court decision helps clarify what is necessary for injured parties to prove their care in a nursing home negligence lawsuit. The case stems from the lawsuit initiated by Kimberly S. French, the daughter of Martha S. French. Ms. French brought a wrongful death case against the Stratford House nursing… Continue Reading
Bed Sores: Not Just A Pain In The Butt– More Like An Uncontrollable Killer
Posted in Bed Sore Lawsuit, Bed Sores, Pressure Sores, Decubitus Ulcers & Pressure Ulcers, Hospital Bed Sores, Sepsis, Wrongful DeathPressure sores (also referred to as bed sores, pressure ulcers, or decubitus ulcers) are an all too common and painful problem for nursing home residents. Most pressure sores are preventable and are caused by faulty care where the nursing home or hospital does provide adequate care to prevent and treat bed sores. Patients vulnerable to developing pressure sores are the elderly, people who are bedridden, and people… Continue Reading
Families Must Educate Themselves When It Comes To Bed Sores Acquired In A Nursing Home Or Hospital
Posted in Bed Sore Lawsuit, Bed Sores, Pressure Sores, Decubitus Ulcers & Pressure Ulcers, Debridement, Hospital Bed Sores, Osteomyelitis, Sepsis, Stages of Bed SoresFrom both a medical treatment and legal standpoint, families coping with a situation where a loved one has acquired a bed sore in a nursing home or hospital are quickly faced with difficult questions. Let’s face it, no one expects a loved one to acquire a bed sore. When notice is received, most families are… Continue Reading
Under-Staffing & Under-Funding Alleged In Nursing Home Negligence Lawsuit Where Patient Developed Bed Sores
Posted in Bed Sore Lawsuit, Bed Sores, Pressure Sores, Decubitus Ulcers & Pressure Ulcers, Osteomyelitis, Sepsis‘Under-staffing’ and ‘under-funding’ are just several of the underlying reasons alleged to contribute to the development of a patient’s bed sores (or decubitus ulcers, pressure ulcers or pressure sores) during an admission to a Missouri nursing home. The nursing home negligence lawsuit, filed by my colleague Attorney David Terry, is filed on behalf of… Continue Reading
Nursing Home Spotlight: Edwardsville Terrace
Posted in Abuse In Chicago Nursing Homes & Other Communities Within Illinois, SepsisOn November 24, 2009 nursing home surveyors from the Illinois Department of Health (IDPH) conducted an inspection of Edwardsville Terrace, a nursing home in Edwardsville, IL. The inspection of the facility found numerous violations of federal and state laws applicable to nursing home care. In particular, surveyors discovered the following alarming situations at the Southern… Continue Reading
Untreated Urinary Tract Infections In Nursing Home Patients May Result In Urosepsis
Posted in Nursing Home Injury, SepsisOne of the most memorable cases I worked on involved a young man who was in a nursing home following a severe injuries he sustained in a construction accident. Due to the nature of the man’s injuries, a catheter was used to drain urine from his bladder. Despite doctors orders to change the catheter every… Continue Reading
Did Assisted Living Facilities Neglect Result In Patient’s Impacted Bowel & Death?
Posted in Impacted Bowel, SepsisWell, according to a Tennessee jury, the answer to the above question is a resounding ‘yes’! Evidence was presented to the jury regarding the circumstances that led up to the death of a resident at Celebration Way, a Tennessee assisted living facility in 2004 due to an intestinal obstruction and sepsis. Among the claims presented… Continue Reading
Early Detection Is The Key Element To Successful Sepsis Treatment
Posted in Bed Sores, Pressure Sores, Decubitus Ulcers & Pressure Ulcers, SepsisAs a nursing home lawyer who has been involved in many cases where where ‘sepsis‘ is listed as a cause of death, I can attest to the devastating effects this complication has on patients with bed sores (similarly called: pressure sores, pressure ulcers or decubitus ulcers) and other medical conditions. To those unfamiliar with sepsis, it… Continue Reading
Nursing Home Injury Laws
Posted in Abuse In Chicago Nursing Homes & Other Communities Within Illinois, Assisted Living Facilities, Broken Bones, Choking, Dehydration, Food Poisoning, Malnutrition, Medical Malpractice, Medication Errors, Neglect, Nursing Home Abuse, Nursing Home Injury, Osteomyelitis, Sepsis, Subdural Hematoma, Wrongful DeathIn times of need, locating necessary information regarding the legal rights and resources for nursing home patients can be difficult and imposing. In this respect, we are proud to introduce a new resource for patients, families and practitioners looking for a concise compilation of information regarding nursing home laws. Nursing Home Injury Laws, provides every states’:… Continue Reading
The Cause Of Many Nursing Home Patients’ Injuries May Be Related To An Underlying Medical Issue
Posted in Clostridium Difficile (C-Diff), Impacted Bowel, National Nursing Home Issue & For-Profit Chains, Sepsis, Subdural HematomaMost of the time a family contacts my office, it is due to an incident involving abuse or ongoing neglect. Although perhaps less obvious, after we investigate many of the cases, the underlying problem may be a complex medical condition that may ultimately prove important in successfully prosecuting the matter. Here are some of the… Continue Reading
Despite Their Avoidability, Bed Sores Continue To Plague Nursing Home & Hospital Patients In All Demographics
Posted in Bed Sores, Pressure Sores, Decubitus Ulcers & Pressure Ulcers, Osteomyelitis, SepsisAlthough the news regarding the horrific physical and emotional impact of bed sores (also called decubitus ulcers, pressures sores or pressure ulcers) surely is on all respectable medical professionals radar screens, bed sores in nursing homes and hospitals continue to plague individuals in all demographics. In order to improve patient care, bed sore prevention must be… Continue Reading
Lawsuit Alleges: One Week In The Nursing Home Results In Significant Deterioration Of Pressure Sores & Sepsis
Posted in Bed Sore Lawsuit, Bed Sores, Pressure Sores, Decubitus Ulcers & Pressure Ulcers, SepsisAfter a one week stay at Caseyville Nursing and Rehabilitation (IL), Theresa Mary Steiner’s pressure sores significantly deteriorated to the point that she had become ‘septic‘ according to a recently filed lawsuit. The lawsuit claims that on December 12, 2008 Ms. Steiner was admitted to the facility with stage II pressure sores on her buttocks… Continue Reading
Bed Sore Problems Compounded: Amyloidosis
Posted in Bed Sores, Pressure Sores, Decubitus Ulcers & Pressure Ulcers, Osteomyelitis, SepsisOne of the nursing home negligence cases my office is currently investigating involves the death of a man related to complications related to amyloidosis. Turns out, the man was suffering from an advanced bed sore on his coccyx (also called pressure ulcers, pressure sores or decubitus ulcers) that had progressed so far that the bone… Continue Reading
Failure To Monitor Bowel Movements In Nursing Home Patients Can Lead To Impacted Bowels
Posted in Impacted Bowel, Sepsis, Wrongful DeathIn addition to monitoring food and liquid intake of nursing home patients, staff need to pay attention to the elimination of the wastes. When urine and feces are not produced on a regular basis, nursing home staff must bring these problems to the attention of physicians. One of the more obvious cases of… Continue Reading