Pressure Sores And New York Medical Malpractice: What You Need To Know

When we place a loved one in a nursing home, we expect that our loved one will be treated with the utmost amount of care and respect.  We expect that they will be protected from harm and receive appropriate treatment.  We expect that they will not be subject to New York medical malpractice.  The costs of these nursing homes are so expensive on a daily basis, so we think that all of this money will result in great health care and treatment.

However, that is not always the case.  Unfortunately, many times nursing homes are ripe with common errors and issues which result in medical malpractice.  Some nursing homes are also breeding grounds for medical malpractice and can really injury our loved ones  These homes should be shut down, but unfortunately there are a lot of strings that the state must pull before the state can pull a nursing home off the market.

One of the most common types of nursing home medical malpractice in New York are pressure sores.  These are sores that begin to develop due to the friction of a person’s body against a bed.  The pressure can create swelling and damage the tissue.  This tissue can begin to break down and get weaker.  If the patient is not moved to alleviate that pressure, the tissue can begin to die.  This can create an open wound and injury.

With a pressure sore, the most common complication or pathology from the pressure sore is an infection.  These infections can be very dangerous and deadly—they can just be very hard to treat.  When these infections become necrotic or a patient become septic, a pressure sore can be a life-threatening held condition.

Despite all of this, a pressure sore can be easily treated if caught early.  In fact, pressure sores can also be easily prevented.  Most protocols in nursing homes just require a nurse to flip, rotate, and manipulate a patient or get the patient to walk or move so they are not sitting or laying down for a long time.  This helps to alleviate the pressure which can cause the abrasions and pressure sores.

Whenever a patient gets a pressure sore, this is considered to be a “never event” in the are and treatment of a patient at a nursing home.  These means that because this pressure sore happens, it is usually medical malpractice.