Sacramento Elder Abuse: Bedsores
What Are Bedsores?
A large number of nursing home patients and elderly persons are bedridden, or they are unable to reposition themselves or move from their bed or wheelchair. A common injury sustained due to such immobility is bedsores, also known as pressure sores or pressure ulcers. These sores occur when an area of skin loses circulation due to pressure, often caused in bony areas such as feet, hips, tail bones, shoulder blades, and elbows.
Elderly people are particularly susceptible to such injury because of lower-than-average blood pressure, making it the duty of their caretakers to keep them mobile and treat any sores that may occur before they get out of hand. Neglect or lack of proper care for such injuries could be proof of elder abuse. so that Our team at Newman Law Group, LLP can support you immediately. Our bedsore attorneys in Sacramento is determined to seek justice for the most vulnerable in our communities.
Common Causes of Bed Sores
The way that pressure sores, more commonly known as "bed sores," occur is through a gradual occurrence of increasing pressure. When the skin is repeatedly inflicted by an object pressing upon it, the body is unable to supply a regular flow of blood to that area of the skin, which then suffers painful damage as the skin cells die off. This especially occurs in spots on one's body that do not have protective muscular or fat padding.
The types of pressures upon one's skin can vary greatly. Friction from repeated dragging of objects on one's skin can often cause sores; even the continual motion of a blanket or a piece of clothing can lead to a sore. Moreover, places that are moist or fragile or not properly cleaned tend to develop bedsores more easily.
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The Various Stages of Bed Sores
Many people are not aware that there are actually different stages of bed sores. It is important to recognize the stage of a bed sore because you can tell how long a person has been suffering from them.
The four stages of bed sores include the following conditions:
- Stage I: At this point, the patient’s skin is not broken but remains intact. It may be somewhat reddened, as well as slightly painful and tender to the touch, and can be either much warmer or colder than normal skin temperature.
- Stage II: During this stage, the outer layer of the skin, called the epidermis, as well as the dermis below, have been broken. The wound will usually appear to be shallow, like a popped blister, and is often red or pink.
- Stage III: This stage results in a much deeper, open wound that even displays the fattier tissue below it. Rather like a deep crater, the resulting ulcer is often yellow in color, and often shows signs of spreading decay to nearby areas of the skin.
- Stage IV: During the final stage, the damage is so deep that muscles, tendons, and even bones may be exposed to open air. The bottom of the wound’s crater has so much dead tissue that it will have darkened and turned crusty, infecting a large portion of the normal healthy skin and muscle around it.
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In severe cases of pressure ulcers, the sores could become deep, extending into the dermis (fat layer) or even to muscle or bone. Without proper preventative treatment, infection could set in. Also, should bacteria enter the bloodstream, sepsis (blood poisoning) could result. If your loved one is suffering from bedsores and you believe that his or her caretakers are neglecting their wounds, get help from a California attorney right away.
Contact us now at (916) 352-3224 for a free case evaluation. You have the ability to fight against those who have cruelly abused your loved one and caused them to suffer from bed sores and abuse. Contact Newman Law Group, LLP today for more information.
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Our Victories
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$1,500,000 Neglect Case
After a critical two months where our client was not bathed and multiple changes of condition went uncommunicated, unreported, and uncared for, she was ambulanced out to an Emergency Room, where her doctors and family were shocked to find that she had a stage IV sacral decubitus ulcer.
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$1,300,000 Neglect Case
The client in this case is an adult who is developmentally disabled, bedridden, and unable to speak or move independently. The intermediate care facility where she resided neglected their responsibility to ensure her safety, well-being, and necessary medical attention that she required. As a result, the client suffered a Stage IV wound.
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$1,000,000 Nursing Home Abuse Case
Unbeknownst to prospective residents and their families, this defendant RCFE chain was willing to systematically violate laws and its own policies designed to protect vulnerable elders. Willing to admit scores of profitable, high need residents (such as our client), and leave them at the mercy of a few unqualified, untrained and overburdened caregivers.
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$875,000 Abandonment Case
Through exhaustive investigation, we found that our client’s death was not the result of a few isolated mistakes by care-givers. Rather, it was the result of this corporate facility’s policies prioritizing occupancy and revenue, while ignoring staff training, staff supervision, and the quality of care being delivered.
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$775,000 Resident-On-Resident Abuse Case
While eating dinner at a Skilled Nursing Facility, our client was confronted by another resident who punched him, resulting in our client’s tragic death. The other resident had resided at the facility for five months, and over the course of those five months had engaged in numerous altercations with other residents, including two altercations that occurred in the 24-hour period before he assaulted and killed our client.
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$750,000 Lack of Proper Care Case
During our client’s roughly ten-week stay at a skilled nursing facility, he would suffer 8 falls, lose twenty (20) pounds, and develop an unstageable left heel pressure ulcer and a stage II coccyx pressure ulcer due to the facility’s reckless neglect. He was transferred to the hospital, where he was found severely dehydrated, his left heel wound required debridement for eschar and gangrene, and for the first time, a stage II coccyx ulcer was identified.
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$678,000 Financial Abuse Case
Our 84-year-old client was the victim of financial elder abuse related to a number of transactions, including the purchase of a home. The Defendant's real estate agents, lender, and escrow company all failed to protect our client throughout the process of purchasing the home, which was orchestrated by a woman who fraudulently siphoned off our client’s entire life savings.
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