My mother is in a long term care facility and now has bedsores,should I call an attorney?

Answer 1

Bed Sores shouldnt happen, they are horrible for the person who has them amd horrible to look at. They do though occur and many times it is difficult to handle because the first thing we do is get upset when we see our loved ones like that. You dont need to call an atorney. You need to get a hold of your mothers plan of care to see how often they are supposed to move her, turn her over, bathe her etc. Then do a little detective work of your own, ask her room-mate if she has one, how often they think your mom is turned, see if the required turing matches up to the actual turning. Or, take a day off work, sit with your mom ALL day, see how often they turn her, bathe her, feed her and measure it up to the plan of care.

You need to document the bed sores, date time, where they are etc. Then take pictures. Then go to the nursing staff and ask for the Director of Nursing Services and deman an explanation. Tell the DON that you want to make an appointment with the social services director, the nursing home administrator and the DON in the next day, at the least, and if there is no improvment in your mothers condition you will call the adult protective services in your county, state etc.
Dont move her, unless her condition doesnt improve, its hard enough just being in a nursing home or LTC, I imiagine even harder to be moved.

Answer 2

Bed sores can be a normal part of the process of lying in a bed for extended periods of time. The real issue is, has the Long Term Care (LTC) facility acknowledged the bedsores and started treating them.

Do they have a plan of action to help prevent these bedsores from happening again.

Another aspect that is often not noticed is that bed sores take at least a little while to even show. So, if you mother was in a regular hospital, or even at home before being transferred to an LTC facility it is actually possible that the sores were caused outside of the hospital, but began to show at the LTC facility.

Bed sores can be very serious, very painful, and are prone to infection.

I would advise you immediately talk to the facility administrator, keep probably daily tabs on your mother until progress is seen, and if you do not feel confident that your mothers needs are being taken care of then maybe a transfer to another facility would be needed. At this point, You may want to talk to an attorney. Money you win in a lawsuit 8 years from now will not help your mother now so take immediate actions now, then contemplate the lawsuit.

Answer 3

Bed sores (decubitis ulcers) are caused by increased pressure on bony prominences of the body, such as; elbow, heels, tailbone, back of head, hips, and some others. But they can occur anywhere just from lack of drying them after baths, like under the breasts. Older people are more prone to skin breakdown, because they're skin is much thinner.

I see these all the time, esp. where I do clinical's. And, although it is a crappy thing to happen and it really shouldn't, it does.

The nurses at the facility should be taking measures to assure this is healed quickly or it could get ugly, and I mean infection. Which could cause death if not cared for, and she will be more prone during an infection for other decub's.

The staff should be turning her every 2 hours or so, use of pillows under these area's, drying her off completely after baths, assessing her skin everyday for reddened areas (that is how it begins), and they could even get her special mattresses if she is immobile, like pressure mattresses. Hope this helps some.

If you arent happy with the care they give her while she has this, and it isnt takin care of properly, I would move her also.

Just remember, not all nurses are bad at what they do. And sueing them isn't always the answer.

Answer 4

YES! No reason for bed sores. Patients should be turned every few hours to ensure this does not happen. I have seen bedsores turn so bad that a patients hipbone was exposed. Bedsores probably means they sit in poo, or pee as well. Not being checked often.

Answer 5

Yes you should because that means that they are not taking care of her. That they are not cleaning her or the sheets and if they get infeact she can get really ill and she can die from this. I would take pictures of these bedsores and talk to a attorney about it.

Answer 6

Not necessarily. Bed sores are an unfortunate reality of life in a nursing home. If you feel like your mother is being neglected (i.e. the nurses are doing nothing to prevent the worsening of her sores, not keeping her clean, not feeding her, etc.) then either move her to another facility, or take legal action if you feel that you must.

Answer 7

Look for better facility, if you have not reported problem to manager do that first, then health department. Then move her to new facility. See attorney if they have had multiple complaints. Usually they will file bankruptcy & open under new name & you are out attorney fees.

Answer 8

Im not very sure about the attorney but they deffinately should have turned her every day in her bed so she would not develop them. By turning a person from side to side makes the blood circulate the body, so that bed sores would not appear

Answer 9

Oh, how sad. First, I would try to get her some help and get her bed sores healed. Most states and cities have an Agency for the Aged - forget the attorney and get your Momma some help.

Granny

Answer 10

You will have to have more of a complaint than bed sores to warrent an attorney. Bed sores are common and yes they can be prevented in most cases, but not in all. I would look for more signs of neglect or abuse.