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Atlanta and Sandy Springs Bedsore Lawyer
The Atlanta and Sandy Springs bedsore lawyers at Ashenden & Associates understand the devastating impact negligent facilities, such as hospitals and nursing homes, can have on bedridden patients. When bedsores and pressure ulcers, also called pressure sores or decubitus ulcers, appear, it’s often a sign of hospital or nursing home neglect. Many elder abuse victims unfortunately develop bedsores due to improper care in medical facilities. If your family member has developed bed sores, it’s crucial to seek legal advice from a Sandy Springs bedsore lawyer to explore your legal options. At Ashenden & Associates, our pressure ulcer attorneys are dedicated to helping family members hold nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other negligent facilities accountable for bedsore injuries and fighting for maximum compensation.
Call us today at (770) 394-8909 for a free consultation with an experienced bed sore lawyer in Atlanta and Sandy Springs. Our law firm works on a contingency fee basis, meaning you don’t pay unless your Sandy Springs bedsore attorney secures a fair bedsore lawsuit settlement or jury verdict.
Risk Factors for Pressure Ulcers
Pressure ulcers, also known as bed sores or decubitus ulcers, can develop when nursing home residents or other patients are exposed to constant pressure that causes restricted blood flow to certain areas of the skin. This restricted blood flow can lead to damaged skin and the development of preventable bedsores that can quickly worsen if the hospital, long-term care facility, or nursing home staff is negligent in treating bedsores adequately. Understanding the risk factors for developing bed sores is important for pressure ulcer prevention.
Risk factors for developing pressure ulcers are higher for patients with limited mobility, poor nutrition, and conditions such as peripheral vascular disease due to restricted blood flow, lack of proper circulation, and constant pressure on certain body parts from being in one position over an extended period.
Both the medical facility and nursing home staff have a legal duty to prevent bedsores and minimize the risk factors for preventable bedsores. When bedsores occur due to hospital negligence or nursing home abuse, a Sandy Springs bed sore attorney from our law firm can help their spouse or a family member seek financial compensation.
Causes of Pressure Sores
Pressure ulcers, also called pressure sores, occur when constant pressure causes restricted blood flow long enough for affected skin to break down. Our Sandy Springs bedsore lawyers commonly see the following causes of pressure sores in nursing home residents and patients in medical facility settings.
Limited mobility: An immobile person or patient with limited mobility who is unable to reposition themselves is at a higher risk of developing bed sores in common locations, such as shoulder blades, buttocks, or back, when left for an extended period.
Poor nutrition: When patients and residents have poor nutrition, they’re more at risk for developing bed sores. Poor nutrition further limits those with compromised immune systems, increasing the risk of pressure ulcers.
Peripheral vascular disease: can increase the risk of bed sores. Patients with peripheral vascular disease are at a higher risk for pressure ulcers because their compromised circulation makes it harder for the skin to heal.
There are multiple types of risk factors and reasons for developing pressure sores. However, all pressure ulcers develop because medical or nursing home staff left the patient in one position regularly. Our Sandy Springs bedsore lawyers can file a hospital negligence or nursing home abuse lawsuit to ensure your loved one gets fair compensation.
Kennedy Ulcer vs Pressure Ulcer
Kennedy ulcers and pressure ulcers are often confused, but they have important differences. Pressure ulcers develop gradually in nursing home residents or hospital patients due to constant pressure on areas like the shoulder blades, which restricts blood flow and leads to an open wound. These pressure sores are preventable when staff repositions bedridden patients to relieve pressure.
In contrast, Kennedy ulcers appear suddenly, within hours to a few days, and are often linked to the final stages of life. To avoid a medical malpractice or nursing home abuse lawsuit, physicians or staff may tell families that their loved one had Kennedy terminal ulcers, knowing the patient had preventable pressure ulcers due to their inadequate care.
If a loved one died from a “Kennedy ulcer” that you believe was actually a pressure sore, contact our Atlanta and Sandy Springs bedsore lawyers for a free case evaluation. Our Sandy Springs wrongful death lawyers have extensive experience with these bed sore cases.
Pressure Ulcer Staging
Bedsore injuries are classified into stages of bedsores, often called pressure ulcer staging, with each of the stages of bedsores indicating the progression of damage caused by prolonged pressure over an extended period. Alongside the stages of bedsores, there are also unstageable pressure ulcers, where physicians can’t determine the damage’s extent because of complications or dead tissue.
Stages of pressure ulcers aren’t just for those developing bedsores in a nursing home or assisted living facility. These stages are used in healthcare research for pressure ulcer prevention and medical terminology universally. Contact a Sandy Springs personal injury lawyer for a free consultation to learn more.
Stage 1 Pressure Ulcer
Stage 1 bed sores are the earliest form, typically presenting as reddened areas on the skin that do not blanch when touched. Pressure ulcers are caused by constant pressure on bony areas such as the shoulder blades and are exacerbated by poor nutrition. Proper patient care, including regular repositioning to relieve pressure, is crucial for further pressure ulcer prevention.
Stage 2 Pressure Ulcer
Stage 2 bed sores occur when affected skin begins to break down, forming an open wound, blister, or shallow crater. This happens when developed bed sores progress from simple redness to actual damaged skin, exposing the tissue underneath. Stage 2 pressure ulcers necessitate immediate and proper care to prevent infection.
Stage 3 Pressure Ulcer
Stage 3 pressure ulcers are severe, with the damage extending into the underlying fatty tissue, creating deep, open wounds. Patients developing bed sores at this stage are left for an extended period and show obvious signs of infection, such as draining pus, meaning that stage 3 bedsore injuries are not unpreventable complications but rather forms of medical malpractice or nursing home abuse.
If your family member has developed bed sores at the stage 3 level, seek legal advice from Sandy Springs bedsore lawyers. Our personal injury attorneys have extensive experience with bed sore lawsuits. We can help your family member receive the care they need.
Stage 4 Pressure Ulcer
Stage 4 pressure ulcers represent an extreme level of neglect, as it takes significant healthcare failure for developed bed sores to reach a stage 4. Developing bed sores at the stage 4 level means the patient has bedsore symptoms, such as draining pus, exposed muscles, tendons, and bones, clearly indicating they’ve had constant pressure and not been moved for an extended period.
In nursing homes and hospitals, a stage 4 bed sore requires repeated lapses in care to not only prevent bed sores but in allowing developing bed sores to progress this far. This level of nursing home abuse or hospital malpractice is not just unacceptable; it often constitutes grounds for punitive damages in a nursing home abuse or medical malpractice claim.
If your family member has developed bed sores at the stage 4 level or is at risk of developing bed sores at this level, seek legal representation from our Atlanta and Sandy Springs bedsore lawyers immediately. Your loved one’s life could depend on it. Our hospital negligence and nursing home abuse attorneys will first help ensure your loved one is treated by a doctor experienced with advanced bed sores, and then, we’ll discuss legal options for a settlement or monetary award.
Stage 4 Bedsore Life Expectancy
A patient or nursing home resident with a stage 4 bed sore faces a drastically reduced life expectancy due to complications like sepsis or bone infection. When hospitals or nursing homes allow a serious pressure ulcer to develop to this extent, it indicates severe neglect. Our Sandy Springs bedsore lawyers can help you explore your legal options to seek justice for your loved one.
Unstageable Pressure Ulcer
Unstageable pressure ulcers are wounds so severe that the full extent of the damage is obscured by dead tissue. This serious pressure ulcer results from inadequate care in a medical facility or nursing home abuse.
If your loved one developed bed sores at the unstageable level, our Sandy Springs pressure ulcer attorneys can help you understand your legal options. Our law firm helps families file bed sore lawsuits against the hospital or nursing home responsible to seek compensation.
Sandy Springs Nursing Home Bedsore Lawyer
Our Sandy Springs nursing home bedsore lawyers focus on advocating for victims of nursing home abuse who have developed bedsores. When preventable bedsores occur, especially in the later stages of bedsores, in an assisted living facility or nursing home facility setting, this is typically a sign of nursing home neglect since the nursing home resident has been left in one position for an extended period with constant pressure and blatant bedsore symptoms going unnoticed by assisted living facility or nursing home staff.
Our Sandy Springs nursing home bedsore attorneys have a strong history of handling bedsore cases involving assisted living facility elder abuse, nursing home abuse, and nursing home neglect.
If a family member has developed bedsores due to a failure to provide proper care, the Sandy Springs nursing home bed sore lawyer team at our law firm is here to help. When nursing home patients develop bedsores, it typically indicates a deeper issue of extreme nursing home abuse. Legal representation is needed to ensure the injured nursing home resident is protected and the nursing home facility is held accountable.
Our Sandy Springs nursing home abuse lawyer group has extensive experience pursuing bedsore cases against negligent nursing homes and assisted living facilities, obtaining fair financial compensation for victims of nursing home abuse who have developed bedsores because of gross negligence shown by the nursing home staff.
Nursing Home Abuse & Bed Sores
Preventable bedsores develop when long-term care facility or nursing home residents are left in one position for an extended period, causing constant pressure to build on vulnerable areas of the body, with common locations including the hips, back, shoulder blades, and heels.
Without proper care from the nursing home facility or assisted living facility staff, these areas are subject to restricted blood flow, leading to fatty tissue damage and, eventually, causing them to develop bedsores. Assisted living facility and nursing home staff understand the risk factors of developing bed sores. They are paid to prevent bedsores and ensure patients within the nursing home facility receive proper nutrition. They should never leave an immobile person lying in bed so long that they start developing bedsores.
However, in many nursing home facilities and assisted living facilities, understaffing—often driven by corporate greed—leads to nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect. While each nursing home facility is paid by residents or their families, many nursing homes do not pay or staff well enough to provide the adequate care needed to prevent bedsores.
Please do not make the mistake of believing nursing homes that say stage 3 or 4 bedsore injuries were out of their control. Serious bedsore injuries are preventable.
Serious bedsores and pressure ulcers are always a clear form of nursing home abuse, and our Sandy Springs nursing home bedsore attorneys are committed to holding negligent nursing homes accountable. As a spouse or family member, you can file a nursing home abuse claim to seek compensation for your loved one’s immense pain and suffering. By pursuing nursing home abuse lawsuits, families can hold local nursing homes accountable and force changes to ensure better care for other patients within the nursing home facility.
If your family member has developed bedsores due to nursing home abuse and neglect, call our Sandy Springs bedsore lawyers for a free case evaluation to discuss your legal options.
How an Atlanta and Sandy Springs Pressure Ulcer Lawyer Can Help
Our Atlanta and Sandy Springs bedsore lawyers help victims of medical negligence and nursing home abuse seek financial compensation. Our attorneys thoroughly investigate nursing home abuse and medical negligence cases, taking direct actions, such as:
- Requesting and reviewing medical records to identify nursing home abuse or medical neglect
- Working with a medical expert or doctor experienced in advanced pressure ulcers
- Filing a lawsuit against those responsible
- Providing experienced legal representation to ensure maximum compensation for medical expenses and other damages through negotiation or jury verdict
Our Atlanta and Sandy Springs pressure sore attorneys help families understand their legal options when their loved one is developing bed sores. For cases involving nursing home abuse or neglect, our attorneys also hold facilities to standards set by the Nursing Home Reform Act, a law requiring nursing homes to provide proper care. By applying relevant legal protections, your Sandy Springs bedsore attorney can help ensure accountability and adequate compensation.
Our Atlanta and Sandy Springs bed sore lawyer group can help with a nursing home abuse or medical malpractice claim. Call for a free case evaluation with an experienced medical malpractice lawyer in Sandy Springs.
Sandy Springs and Atlanta Bedsore Lawsuit FAQ
Here, our Sandy Springs and Atlanta bed sore lawyers answer questions you may have about bed sores, malpractice, or nursing home abuse. Schedule a free consultation with our bed sore lawyers for specific answers.
What Do Bed Sores Look Like?
Bed sores start as red, irritated skin that doesn’t fade when pressed and can progress to open wounds with damaged or dead tissue. Developing bed sores in advanced stages may appear as deep ulcers exposing muscles or bones.
How to Prevent Bed Sores on a Bedridden Patient?
To prevent bed sores on a bedridden patient, the caretaker must reposition the patient every 4 hours to relieve pressure and maintain proper nutrition. For immobile patients at risk of developing bedsores, monitoring for early signs of open wounds is key.
How Long Does it Take for a Bed Sore to Form?
A bed sore can begin to form within just a few hours of prolonged pressure for medical facility or nursing home patients with limited mobility. Treating bedsores early is important, as neglecting proper care can lead to more severe stages of pressure ulcers.
Are Bedsores Considered Medical Malpractice in Georgia?
Yes, bed sores are considered medical malpractice or nursing home abuse if they result from negligence. Nursing facility or hospital-acquired bedsores often develop when medical facilities don’t address restricted blood flow, prevent proper circulation, and fail to treat minor bedsore injuries before they worsen.
How Much is a Bedsore Lawsuit Worth?
Lawsuits for bedsores or pressure ulcers can range from tens of thousands to millions, depending on the severity of malpractice or nursing home abuse, medical expenses incurred, and the extent of harm caused by developing bed sores. In cases of gross negligence, victims may also receive a monetary award in the form of punitive damages.
Atlanta and Sandy Springs Bedsore Attorney
Healthcare workers are highly trained to understand the excruciating consequences of developing bedsores. Considering that proper care simply involves moving the patient, developing pressure ulcers at the stage 3 or stage 4 level should never happen in nursing homes or hospitals.
Family members dealing with healthcare facility neglect or nursing home abuse have legal options.
Our Atlanta or Sandy Springs bedsore lawyers help families seek financial compensation and justice for their loved ones. At Ashenden & Associates, our bedsore injury attorneys and legal team understand how painful the situation is for everyone, and your trusted Sandy Springs bedsore lawyer will provide the compassionate, dedicated representation we’d expect.
Let a Sandy Springs bedsore attorney handle your bedsore case so that you can focus on your family.
Call (770) 394-8909 for a free consultation with our experienced bed sore lawyers in Sandy Springs and Atlanta, GA, and let our attorneys help you take the first step toward justice and healing.
