Resident Suffers From Pressure Sore in Michigan Nursing Home
The Buckfire & Buckfire P.C nursing home injury lawyers regularly file lawsuits against Michigan nursing homes for residents who suffer from pressure sores while residing at the facility. Many residents are at risk for developing pressures sores due to a number of medical conditions, so it is imperative that the Michigan nursing home takes all necessary and appropriate measures to prevent them from occurring. When residents are properly cared for and monitored, pressure sores are completely preventable.
Pressure sores happen when tissue injury develops from soft tissue being compressed between a bony prominence and an external surface for a prolonged period of time. The external surface may be a mattress, a chair or wheelchair, or even other parts of the body. Pressure sores can result from one period of sustained pressure; however, most sores probably occur as a result of repeated incidents of blood flow interruption without adequate time for recovery. In fact, low pressure endured for long periods of time is believed to be more significant in producing pressure ulcers than higher pressure for shorter durations.
Treating Pressure Sores in Michigan Nursing Home
Nursing homes should have a proper care process in place for treating pressure ulcers or sores when they develop. Below are the basic steps that should be followed to manage a pressure ulcer or sore.
- Assessment: The purpose of this step is to provide a rational basis for deciding whether there is a need, risk, or problem and what to do about it. The nursing home’s staff and practitioners collect relevant information about the resident (history, signs and symptoms, known medical conditions, personal habits and patterns) After assessment is done, the medical staff should also do the following:
- Evaluate and organize that information to identify whether the individual has a specific need, condition, or problem
- Describe and define the nature (onset, duration, frequency) of the risk, condition, or problem.
2. Diagnosis: The nursing home’s staff and practitioners attempt to identify causes of a condition or problem, or explain why causes cannot or should not be identified.
3. Treatment & Management: The nursing home’s staff and practitioners use the above information to decide how to manage a resident’s condition, symptom, or situation. Where causes may be identifiable and correctable, they seek and address them or explain why they could not or should not have done so.
4.Monitoring: The nursing home’s staff and practitioners evaluate the individual’s progress over time in relation to a risk, need, problem, condition, or symptom, consider the effectiveness of interventions, and make a systematic determination about what to do next.
In patients with significant predisposing factors, it is important to assess the patient’s risk for pressure sores and develop a prevention plan as soon as possible. The most widely used plan by medical providers for predicting a patient’s likelihood to develop pressure sores is the Braden Scale.
The Braden Scale considers various factors to determine the risk of a patient for pressure ulcers or bed sores. These include the patient’s mobility, ability to sense pain, nutritional status, and mental status.
Contact your Michigan Nursing Home Neglect Attorney
Nursing homes can be negligent if they do not properly assess the patient for the likelihood of developing a pressure sore, if they do not turn the patient on a regular schedule or do not bathe the patient on a regular schedule, and finally, if they do not properly treat the patient after the diagnosis of a pressure sore.
Michigan nursing home residents who develop pressure sores in skilled nursing care facilities or in other medical care facilities have the legal right to compensation for those injuries. Pressure sores cause significant pain and discomfort and often require extensive treatment, including surgery. To learn more about the legal rights of a nursing home patient who develops a pressure sore in a nursing home, you should contact our nursing home neglect lawyers today. Call us now at (800) 606-1717! We will represent you under our No Fee Promise, which means no legal fees or costs until we prove and win your case.
