Nursing Home Neglect Allegedly Causes Man’s Pressure Sores

When nursing home staff in New Mexico fail to properly care for a resident, the result may be dire. One elderly man, along with his family members, is suing one convalescent home after they claimed the facility was negligent in its care. They said the alleged nursing home neglect caused the man to develop multiple bed sores in the buttocks and hip areas.

According to the suit, the man was hospitalized for bronchitis and then placed in a convalescent home. While there, he had to receive regular skin care in order to avoid getting pressure sores. This meant he had to be hydrated, kept dry and clean, and repositioned every couple of hours.

The family and the man said the staff at the center, however, simply ignored his needs. After he was treated for pressure sores, nurses did not change the man’s bandages even though they had told the family that this had been done. His pressure-sore issue led to infection and pneumonia in addition to requiring dead tissue to be surgically removed. The plaintiffs claimed that the facility was understaffed and thus did not provide quality care. The center is accused of not providing adequate training, withholding custodial and medical services, and not providing the economic resources needed to properly care for patients.

When a person in New Mexico is hurt as a result of nursing home neglect, he or she has the right to seek compensatory damages. The money awarded in a successfully fought case may not be able to undo the harm caused by the careless nursing staff. However, it may help the injured victim and his or her family members to experience a sense of closure in such a case.

Source: dailybreeze.com, “Lawsuit alleges Hawthorne convalescent home neglected 85-year-old patient“, Larry Altman, July 9, 2015

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