Illinois nursing home neglect often results in injury to residents. Common indicators of abuse or neglect are pressure ulcers and bed sores. Illinois nursing home negligence lawyers say bed sores are never an acceptable (or a ‘given’) result of long-term care, as some family members have been led to believe. While elderly and immobile patients are far more susceptible to this painful condition, it is almost always preventable. By understanding the cause and risk factors for bed sores, you can help ensure your loved one is receiving proper care.

Nursing home patients are often afflicted with mental or physical health conditions that limit their ability to stand, walk, or turn themselves in bed. Some are bound to wheelchairs. Any duration of time spent in the same position causes tissue damage from prolonged pressure and/or friction on the skin - resulting in bed sores or pressure ulcers. Bedridden patients who are incontinent run an even higher risk of forming bedsores because extra maintenance is required of the staff to maintain a clean and dry environment. Prevention is key.

“The presence of bedsores or pressure ulcers should be seen as a warning sign, a high-flying red flag that a patient’s comprehensive care plan needs to be evaluated and updated,” says our Chicago nursing home abuse attorney.  “The frequency of pressure ulcers, or decubitus ulcers,  in nursing home patients speaks more to the diminished level of care that exists today, rather than an expected or causal relationship to the aging and frail.”

In other words, bed sores, pressure or decubitus ulcers are NEVER acceptable. If you believe your loved one is the victim of Illinois nursing home neglect or abuse, contact an Illinois nursing home negligence lawyer today.

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