For thousands of patients every year, a hospitalization turns into a lingering nightmare when they develop pressure sores during their stay. Some hospitals have put a premium on medical research and technology at the expense of providing hands-on care for patients overall medical needs.
Hospital staff must remember that many of their patients medical conditions result in physical disability that increases their risk of developing pressure sores. Further, providing quality medical care requires them to assess the patient as a whole—as opposed to treating the acute condition for which they may have originally been admitted for.
Recognizing importance of hospitals to take steps to prevent the development of pressure sores in their patients, Medicare has included stage 3 and 4 pressure sores on its list of ‘Never Events’—or complications that are so easily preventable with basic attention and care that they simply should never occur in the first place. Beginning in 2008, Medicare as well as some major health insurers, have refused to reimburse hospitals for any
charges related to the care of hospital-acquired pressure sores.
When hospitals fail to provide the basic care for their patients and in turn the patient develops pressure sores (interchangeably used with: bed sores, pressure ulcers or decubitus ulcers), during their hospital stay, the patient or his family may be entitled to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit against the facility for the resulting
pain, disability and medical expenses.
Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers has represented families and individuals in medical malpractice cases following the development of a pressure sore during a hospitalization. Working with some of the leading doctors and nurses in the field of pressure sore treatment and prevention, we can evaluate your case and aggressively prosecute the case when necessary.
Related Materials From Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers:
Have you seen a bed sore? If you haven’t, advanced bed sores are truly horrific conditions that are perhaps the most gruesome example of institutional neglect.
However, particularly when there are photographs of a gaping wound on a patient’s buttocks or heels, many of these cases seem to miraculously get get resolved prior to when they get presented to a jury. Perhaps some of the risk managers and lawyers defending these nursing homes and hospitals are providing useful advice to their clients to: settle, settle, settle?…
An increasing number of number of pressure sore cases my office is working on involve pressure sores that have developed during a hospitalization. What was once considered a sad symbol of poor nursing home care, is now increasingly associated with poor hospital care. Many of our clients who enter a hospital for acute care, wind up extending their hospitalization due to the development of a pressure sore during their stay.
Federal and State regulations require nursing homes to conduct a thorough assessment of all new admissions. The assessment evaluates the individuals skin integrity and attempts to determine who is susceptible to develop of pressure sores. This initial assessment is designed to help nursing home staff implement preventative pressure sore care….
While most pressure sore cases may appear to be the result of negligence and complete disregard for the medical needs of a patient— and any resulting claim would want to speedily resolved by the facility. The fact remains that many cases involving the development of a pressure sore (similarly referred to as: bed sore, pressure ulcer, or decubitus ulcer) require extensive litigation and trial work.
The reality is that most cases do get resolved prior to trial, it is usually after the lawyers defending the medical facility make an effort to at the very least explore possible defenses to the negligence claims made on behalf of the injured person or family. Most defenses attempt to shift the responsibility for developing the pressure sore on the part of the injured person….
The first step in evaluating a bed sore case, is to determine when at what type of facility the bed sore developed. Aside from obviously knowing which facility to pursue a claim or lawsuit against, knowing how the facility is legally categorized is essential to a successful recovery.
The legal classification of the facility: nursing home, group home, hospital, residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFE’s) or assisted living facility is important for determining which laws are applicable to the case….