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Washington DC Nursing Home Neglect Can Cause Bedsores

Our Washington DC nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers represent patients who have suffered serious illnesses and injuries at assisted living facilities. Unfortunately, one condition that we see and hear about way too often is bedsores (also known as decubitus ulcers or pressure sores). Many of the people we’ve represented who had bedsores didn’t have to develop this condition if only they’d receive the proper nursing care.

While a bedsore might sound like a mild sore, it can deteriorate to the point that infection, organ damage or death can result. The fact that bedsores can occur and are preventable is not news to anyone in the nursing home industry, so why, then, are so many patients still developing them? This is unacceptable, and if you or your loved one has pressure sores because he/she did not receive the proper nursing home care, then there is a good chance that you have grounds for a Washington DC nursing home negligence case.

Common causes of bedsores at assisted living facilities:
• Failure to regularly reposition/turn a patient in his/her bed
• Lack of mobility
• Prolonged pressure on one part of the body
• Dehydration
• Malnutrition
• Allowing a patient to sit in soiled bed sheets
• Letting moisture stay close to a resident’s skin for too long
• Failure to change wet diapers
• Inexperienced nursing staff
• Understaffing
• Failure to identify and treat bedsores

Bedsores can become extremely painful and debilitating. There is no reason why a patient should not get the appropriate nursing home care that would prevent pressure sores from developing.

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Directory, District of Columbia Department of Health
Bedsores, MayoClinic

Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog


More Blog Posts:

Psychiatric Report Says U.S. Needs to Prepare for Increase of Elderly Dementia, Maryland Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, June 8, 2011
Dementia Patient’s Wandering Leads to Death—Nursing Home Fined $20K for Negligence, Maryland Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, June 6, 2011
Florida Nursing Homes Investigated for Severe Abuse and Negligence, Maryland Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, June 3, 2011


To schedule your free consultation, contact our DC nursing home neglect law firm today.

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