Nursing Home Neglect Lawsuit Claims Wrongful Death and Negligence After Woman Dies from Bedsore that Resulted in Acute Sepsis
The family of Georgia Fitsos is suing Broadstone Residential Facility for nursing home neglect and wrongful death. Fitsos, a patient at the long-term care facility, died in October 2007.
The 82-year-old woman’s cause of death was acute sepsis and other medical complications because of a Stage 4 pressure wound. Her son noticed the bedsore about two months before her death when he saw that she was experiencing breathing difficulties. It was then that paramedics rushed her to the hospital.
Fitsos also suffered from dementia and Alzheimer’s. A month before the bedsore was discovered, in July 2007, her son John visited her at the nursing home and took pictures of her black eye. He says she told him that another person had struck her. Nursing home staffers, however, said that she injured herself when she fell asleep while seated at her wheelchair and her face fell onto the dining table.
Stage IV Bedsores
A stage IV bedsore is a serious matter. By the time the bedsore reaches this stage, the decubitus ulcer has gone from the skin into the bone, muscle, or tendon. A person with a stage IV bedsore should be rushed to the hospital emergency room immediately.
Nursing home staffers are supposed to make sure that they regularly change the sheets of bedridden patients, while making sure that they turn the residents on a regular basis so that bedsores don’t develop.
Patients who are bed-bound are most at risk of developing bedsores in certain areas of their body, including their:
• Shoulders
• Shoulder blades
• Back or sides of the head
• Ears’ rims
• Lower back
• Hip bones
• Tailbone
• The sides or backs of the heels, knees, toes, or ankles
Unfortunately, nursing home negligence can lead to bedsores that can lead to serious health complications, even death. Other nursing home patients who may be at risk of developing pressure ulcers are residents that use wheelchairs or need help changing positions.
Woman's death prompts family to take action, SacBee, August 19, 2009
Bedsores (pressure sores), MayoClinic
Related Web Resources:
Bed sores
