Bedsores, also known as “Decubitus Ulcers” or “Pressure Ulcers”, are open sores resulting from prolonged pressure on the skin. They are almost always a sign of neglect or abuse because they are literally caused by leaving someone in the bed for hours and hours at a time until the skin breaks down over a “bony prominence”. We commonly see them develop near the tailbone, ankles, hips, and heels, although we’ve seen them on ears, toes and everything in between.
Very often the facility will come up with an excuse to justify the development of a bedsore. “It’s part of the dying process” or “This is a deep tissue injury” and others are meant to convince you it was unavoidable. 95% of the time bedsores are avoidable and these excuses are meant to stop you from holding them accountable.
Ask yourself this question: Is the facility understaffed? Avoiding bedsores requires “turning and repositioning” a resident at least every two hours. Was your loved one always on their back when you arrived? Ever been there more than two hours and nobody came to reposition your loved one? Do they spend hours at a time in a wheelchair or other chair? Bedsores are almost always evidence of understaffing, which is a conscious choice of the owners of the nursing home to cut staff to increase profits.
At Johnson Moore we’ve handled hundreds of cases involving bedsores. We are happy to talk with you for free about a loved one developing a bedsore.
