Bed Sore FAQ: Hospital bed sores | Pressure sores, ulcers

Current Category: Bed Sore In Hospital

Can a hospital be pursued for medical malpractice when a patient develops bed sores during a hospitalization?

Some hospitals have forgotten that they have a duty to both tend to their patients’ acute condition as well as their overall medical care needs. As the largest organ in the body, hospitals must remember to take care of the patient’s skin. When skin care goes ignored, hospital patients are …

Can young people develop bed sores during an admission to a medical facility?

Absolutely. Bed sores are not a condition isolated to the elderly. In many circumstances, younger patients in nursing homes and hospitals… face many of the same risk factors that their contemporaries encounter: remaining in one position for extended periods of time, being kept in soiled linens for extended periods and

Pressure Sores Are Needlessly Killing Nursing Home & Hospital Patients

Pressure sores (also referred to as bed sores, pressure ulcers, or decubitus ulcers) are an all too common and painful problem for nursing home residents.
Most pressure sores are preventable and are caused by faulty care where the nursing home or hospital does provide adequate care to prevent and treat bed sores. Patients vulnerable… to developing

Are Bed Sores Inevitable For Obese Patients In Nursing Homes & Hospitals?

An article published in the Las Vegas Sun, painted an unfortunately common set of circumstances; an overweight patient goes into a hospital for a medical procedure– only to acquire pressure sores… during their stay. Sure, the same scenario can (and most certainly does) occur with people of average stature, but

Bed Sores Continue To Plague Patients In Chicago Nursing Homes & Hospitals

Even in large metropolitan areas like Chicago, IL patients in nursing homes, hospitals and other types of senior living facilities… continue to suffer from a medical complication that has been around as long as history books have been written— bed sores.
While some facilities suggest that the development of

Pressure Relieving Devices May Help Reduce Rate Of Pressure Sores In Nursing Home & Hospital Patients

As a lawyer who sees a significant number of cases where nursing home or hospital patients have developed bed sores… (also referred to as: pressure sores, pressure ulcers or decubitus ulcers) during a short or long-term admission, I feel as though the most progress has been made with respect to

Texas Hospital Blamed for Patient’s Severe Bed Sore

A former patient at Beaumont’s Memorial Hermann Baptist Hospital has sued two of the hospital’s doctors, claiming that they delayed treatment and caused unnecessary complications, including a stage 3 bed sore.
According to the Southeast Texas Record, …Ronald Lee Phillips, Sr. was admitted to Memorial Hermann on Oct. 29,

Pressure Sores Among Most Costly Post-Operative Injuries, Studies Say

Two recent studies published in Health Affairs indicate that post-operative pressure sores are among the most costly injuries caused by medical error, according to MedPageToday.com.
Of the ten costliest medical errors, pressure ulcers ranked No. 2, second only to postoperative infections. Other common errors … included infection due to a

Proper “Coding” Necessary for Hospitals Receiving Bed Sore Reimbursement

The hospital chart of an elderly loved one can be a confusing morass of letters, scribbles and numbers. Yet the numeric “codes” on each person’s chart are essential to receiving proper Medicare coverage.
In a recent interview with The Hospitalist, …two “documentation specialists” gave tips for understanding your loved one’s

Without A Prevention Plan, All Nursing Home & Hospital Patients Remain At Risk For Developing Pressure Ulcers

Pressure ulcers are indeed preventable in the overwhelming majority of circumstances. The key is to identify patients who are at risk quickly after their admission to a medical facility and timely– and effectively implement preventative measures such as regular pressure relief and ensuring patients remain clean and dry.
Medicare has…

Why are patients recovering from a hip fracture susceptible to develop pressure ulcers?

…Almost 45% of patients recovering from a hip fracture will develop some type of pressure ulcer (similarly referred to as: bed sore, pressure sore or decubitus ulcer) during their recovery.
The primary areas where patients recovering from a hip fracture develop pressure ulcers are on their hips (usually the non-operated

Bed Sores Continue To Plague Nursing Home & Hospital Patients In All Demographics

Although the news regarding the horrific physical and emotional impact of bed sores (also called decubitus ulcers, pressures sores or pressure ulcers…) surely is on all respectable medical professionals radar screens, bed sores in nursing homes and hospitals continue to plague individuals in all demographics. In order to improve

What are some common defenses used by nursing homes and hospitals in lawsuits involving pressure sores?

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…

Sometimes Medical Complications, Such As Bedsores, Are Not Disclosed Until The Patient Is Seen At A Hospital

Some of my angriest clients contact me after a loved one was transferred from a nursing home to another nursing home or hospital only to learn of serious medical problems their loved one likely acquired during their original admission.
Of course, breaking disappointing news is difficult for anyone to do.…

Four California Hospitals Fined For Delays Related Medical Errors– Including Severe Bedsores

California enacted a state law in July 2007 requiring hospitals to report “never events” (events that are never supposed to be allowed to happen). Never events include severe bedsores (stage 3 or 4)…, foreign objects left inside surgical patients, surgery performed on the wrong body part,

Simple preventative techniques can drastically reduce the rate of hospital-acquired decubitus ulcers

Though surely an unanticipated complication, hospital-acquired decubitus ulcers …(also referred to as: pressure ulcers, pressure sores or bed sores) remain a tremendous problem for patients and the hospital itself. Acknowledging the negative impact of decubitus ulcers, Texas Arlington Memorial Hospital set out to create a program to reduce the rate

Nursing home neglect and medical malpractice alleged in wrongful death case involving the development and advancement of decubitus ulcers during admission to nursing home and hospital

Philadelphia jurors have spoken in a case involving the development of decubitus ulcers during a hospitalization and deterioration during a subsequent stay at a nursing home. Not only did they speak up, but the jurors stood up in a loud way, slapping $5 million in punitive damages on top of…

Research study concludes pressure ulcers continue to plague patients during hospitalizations

In the past, pressure ulcers were primarily associated with poor nursing home care. Times have changed. Today, pressure ulcers acquired during a hospitalization… are a growing problem. In our medical negligence group, we continue to see clients who enter a hospital for acute care, only to wind up with an

Why is it important to differentiate the type of facility where a bed sore developed?

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…

How many hospital patients suffer from bed sores?

One of the largest studies regarding bed sores in a hospital setting was carried out by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality…. The report concluded that hospitalizations for bed sores (also called decubitus ulcers, pressure ulcers, pressure sores) have increased by more than 80% from 1993 to 2006.

Bed Sore
Resource Center

Information and medical contact resources for bed sore education and treatment.

Bed Sore Glossary - definitions of common bed sore terms and phrases.
Bed Sore Treatment Specialists - national compilation of wound care specialists, state-by-state, treating bedsores.
Bed Sore Articles - articles and links to blog posts about bed sores.
Bed Sore Research Studies - links to recent studies on prevention and treatment.
Additional Bed Sore Resources

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Frequently asked questions on bed sore prevention, treatment and legal rights of those who have been neglected.