Nursing Home Neglect Lawsuit Claims Horribly Infected Bedsore Led to Resident’s Wrongful Death
The family of 73-year-old Verda Henry says she died because of nursing home neglect. In their wrongful death lawsuit against Sutton Park Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, they contend that the grandmother of 15 died in August 2007 because she had a bedsore that became seriously infected. The plaintiffs are also suing South Shore Medical Center, which is located across the street from the nursing home.
Henry was admitted to the long-term care facility in 2005 after she injured her arm during a fall accident. She thought she would undergo therapy and could go home in a matter of weeks. She was still at the home two years later despite repeated requests that she be allowed to leave.
Henry’s daughter, Patricia, said she and her kids would visit her mother for hours at a time. During those visits, she said the nurse on duty appeared to be too busy to check on her mother or feed her. She says that Henry eventually grew so weak that she became immobile.
Patricia says that she noticed the bedsore on her mother’s tailbone when she was changing her. By this time the decubitus ulcer was infected. Patricia says her mother screamed because the doctor had to scrape off skin. She claims that her mother's bones and spinal cord were visible.
Bedsores
Our Chicago nursing home negligence lawyers are aware at the fact that bedsores are easily preventable if patients get the proper care. We also know that pressure sores are treatable if they are diagnosed as soon as possible. There is no excuse for a nursing home resident to die because nursing home workers were neglectful and did not:
• Help to turn a patient.
• Keep the skin moisturized.
• Check the patient regularly to make sure sores haven't developed.
• Give the resident a mattress that relieves pressure.
• Provide the appropriate nutritional supplements.
Elderly and sick residents stay at nursing homes because they need specialized care. Neglecting a nursing home patient can be grounds for a Chicago wrongful death lawsuit.
Family sue nursing home after fatal bedsore horror takes matriarch's life, NY Daily News, September 9, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Bedsores.org
Fighting Bedsores With a Team Approach, NY Times, February 19, 2008
