North Chicago & St. Louis Injury Updates
When the people we love age, we are often faced with making difficult decisions about their care. For many people with aging parents and other elderly relatives, nursing facilities are the best option.
Without an open schedule and adequate medical training, you probably can’t provide the constant care and supervision a person with an age-related illness or degenerative condition needs. Even if you do your best to find a safe and clean nursing home, it is still possible for your loved one to experience serious abuse and neglect.
An attorney can help investigate whether the facility in question has had a history of court cases, settlements or citations from the state. In more severe cases, your attorney can help you locate a safer facility for your loved one and file a civil lawsuit against the facility for failing to provide adequate care.
Although people sometimes think of bedsores as minor issues, in reality, they are often early warning signs that someone they love is being neglected. If your loved one has developed bedsores, you need to take action as soon as possible to protect against future neglect.
Bedsores can cause serious bodily harm
Many people think of bedsores as a minor inconvenience. In reality, bedsores can cause serious infections, loss of tissue, extreme pain and even death if they aren’t addressed quickly. Bedsores are not a fact of life for those with limited mobility. In fact, proper nursing care should be able to prevent the vast majority of bedsores and treat minor ones before they become too serious. Bedsores most commonly appear on areas that are under constant pressure, such as the hips and buttocks, lower back, tailbone or shoulders.
In early stages, bedsores look like a rash. The tissue around the wound may have a soggy feeling. If the bedsore isn’t immediately treated, it can progress to a serious external ulcer. The tissue around it will rot and die. Serious, even fatal infections can take hold. Once a bedsore has developed, it has to be addressed immediately by regularly shifting the affected individual and using special practices to alleviate pressure on the affected location. Failing to do so can result in worse, spreading bedsores.
You need an attorney if you suspect nursing home neglect
Your loved one deserves the care and attention that is being paid for. If the facility isn’t providing it, you can seek financial repayment for damages, such as medical bills and the costs of moving to a new facility. The right attorney may be able to negotiate a refund of payments during the period of neglect. You don’t – and shouldn’t — have to go through this alone.