Stages of Bedsores in Nursing Homes

We entrust senior care facilities with taking care of our vulnerable and aging loved ones. It can be heartbreaking to visit someone at one of these facilities and either hear them complain about bed sores or see them personally yourself. If you have experienced a loved one being victimized by improper care leading to bedsores, contact our Boston-based office of expert elder abuse attorneys at Altman & Altman LLP today.

Bedsores, also know as pressure sores, develop when an individual is forced to lay stationary on an area of exposed skin for extended periods of time so that the skin becomes irritated and eventually ruptures or develops a deep gash due to excessive friction sloughing through the layers of epidermis.

Bed sores develop in four stages, with the fourth being severe injuries which will require extensive medical care to correct, and will likely cause permanent damage to a senior loved one. The four stages are:

• Stage 1 - Irritation

  These types of sores are not open wounds. They may appear as reddened skin but do not always. Stage 1 bedsores indicate an area that is obviously irritated but not developed to a point of bleeding or advanced degradation of the skin.

• Stage 2 - Open wound

  At this level of bedsore, the skin has broken away and an ulcer has most likely formed, which will be a cause of pain or severe discomfort for a senior citizen. These sores will continue to expand into deeper levels of the tissue and may resemble a scrape, blister or a shallow crater within the skin. Even at this point, the skin is suffering serious, potentially permanent damage.

• Stage 3 - Deeper wound

  A stage 3 bedsore is further developed than the second stage, which may manifest as a deeper, bigger wound than seen previously. You may be able to see a yellow organic material within the crater of the wound, which is actually exposed fatty tissue.

• Stage 4 - Critical wound

  At this level of bedsore, the senior citizen may not even feel the sore or feel as though they are in pain anymore due to the amount of tissue loss and nerve endings that have died. However the wound at this point is in a dire state, with a very deep crater possibly exposing joints or even bones. This level bedsore may cause damage to deeper body tissue, tendons and joints. Medical intervention is absolutely essential if a sore gets this bad.

In order for a senior citizen to develop a serious bedsore, it is likely that the nursing home facility has not done their part to check on them in any regular fashion or ensured that they are being moved enough from a stationary position. This level of neglect is unacceptable and, regardless of the level of staffing available, should never happen in today's society.

Elder abuse attorneys at Altman & Altman LLP have over 50 years of experience in Massachusetts and the Boston Metro Area holding nursing care facilities responsible for negligence that leads to these horrible wounds in our vulnerable loved ones. We will aggressively pursue any facility that allows harm to come to your senior loved one through neglect.

Bedsores may lead to further required medical intervention, which can mean big medical bills. Altman & Altman LLP will help you file a claim and work tirelessly to ensure that you receive financial compensation for the suffering your loved one has endured.

Call us for a free consultation to go over the details of your case today at 617.492.3000 or toll-free at 800.481.6199. We are available 24/7.