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Bedsore.Law

What is a Nursing Home Bedsore Lawyer?

Bedsores are a common problem for elderly victims of immobility or paralysis. Unfortunately, bedsores can lead to serious health consequences because of their vulnerability to infections. Nursing homes trusted with caring for the elderly and those in critical health are often guilty of negligence when attending to bedsores, including failing to provide routine, patient-centered care.

So, if your family, loved one, or friend has suffered from medical negligence in a nursing facility, remember that you always have legal options to explore. Taking legal action against medical negligence protects your loved one and prevents nursing facilities from taking advantage of unsuspecting residents.

Nursing home bedsore lawyers can help you hold nursing homes accountable for their negligence by filing lawsuits. By seeking legal redress, you will also prevent nursing facilities from extending mistreatment to other residents who are potential victims of negligence.

Bedsore Stages

So, before taking any legal action, you must understand the different stages of bedsores to know precisely the fair compensation resulting from negligence.

Stage 1

This is the first stage of bedsore. It is characterized by redness and the skin feels warm and sensitive to slight touches. Stage one bedsores are marked by a purple or blue tint, especially for darker skins. The victim with stage 1 bedsores will often complain of itchiness, hurting, and burning on the skin.

Stage 2

Stage 2 bedsores are marked by a scrape, blister, or open sore. The victim will usually complain of pain, and the skin around the affected area will be discolored, depending on the color of the skin. Black skin will show a purple or blue tint while white skin will showcase redness and blisters.

Stage 3

This is a critical stage of bedsore because the affected area of the skin has a crater-like appearance. The surface skin is usually damaged and exposed to dirt, heat, and even infection.

Stage 4

A large, open wound on the affected area of the skin marks this stage. Joints, bones, tendons, and muscles are exposed, and the skin is at a higher risk of infection. Stage 4 bedsores can lead to devastating health consequences. Nursing home residents hospitalized because of immobility or paralysis are highly vulnerable to stage 4 bedsores.

It’s advisable to always be on the lookout for your loved one or relative in a nursing facility. Suppose you believe your patient has bedsores or has suffered fatal consequences (death) due to medical negligence in a nursing facility. In that case, you can take legal action against the involved nursing home.

What Do Nursing Home Bedsore Lawyers Do?

A nursing home bedsore lawyer will listen and act on your concerns – be it due to medical negligence or mistreatment in nursing homes.

Nursing home bedsore attorneys understand that nursing facilities are responsible for extending patient-centered care and are, therefore, on the lookout for medical negligence and mistreatment.

A nursing home bedsore lawyer understands that most people feel vulnerable after an incident leading to personal injury. Bedsores are a critical element of personal injury because they lead to infections and discomfort and can significantly impair a patient’s health – especially a vulnerable patient like a bedridden elderly predisposed in a nursing bed due to immobility or paralysis.

Most importantly, adjusting to life after a life-threatening incident can be a trying time. What’s worse is that most people do not have the energy, time, and resources to explore the unfamiliar landscape of bedsore or personal injury law.

A nursing home bedside attorney will help you navigate this complex legal trajectory in the following ways.

Explain the Legal Process

As stated, most people with families and friends in nursing homes do not know what constitutes medical negligence or mistreatment. As a result, most clients do not have the time and energy to navigate the complex legal landscape of personal injury law.

Legally claiming compensation for personal injury cases is unique to the type of injury or negligence a resident has sustained and how they’ve sustained it. In addition, personal injury law differs from state to state, making jurisdiction a critical component when seeking redress for personal injuries like bedsores. For instance, different rules besieging comparative mistreatment and negligence, varied statutes of limitation, and the unique differences of individual cases make it hard for clients and victims of negligence to wrap their heads around personal injury law.

Your nursing home bedsore lawyer will clearly explain the process of filing your claim. In addition, the attorney will inform you what to expect in the coming weeks or months of filing your petition. These personal injury lawyers will explain your rights, obligations as a victim, and entitlements you’re eligible for immediately after you file for negligence or mistreatment.

Give Professional Advice

The first step of obtaining due compensation for negligence or mistreatment starts with professional advice. And alongside presenting you with adequate information about your rights and obligations, the nursing home bedsore lawyer will explain what you must (and must not do) following your injury and when filing the claim.

For instance, your attorney will ask you to seek immediate medical attention for your bedsore injuries to ensure you can back up your claims with verifiable medical records.

The attorney may also warn you not to provide any written statement to your nursing home, their insurer, or at-fault party since the implications of written statements could make it hard for you to obtain compensation.

Investigate and Do Due Diligence

Your injury attorney has to investigate every aspect of your claim. A nursing home bedsore attorney will deeply assess all aspects of your case – including looking deeper into the nursing home’s code of practice and previous incidences of negligence.

The goal of investigating every aspect of your case is to determine the appropriate compensation you must get from the health facility. Your bedsore attorneys can make more accurate judgments by understanding the full scope of your injuries from a medical and legal perspective.

Understanding the full extent of your injury will also help them to put up strong arguments when negotiating the appropriate settlement(s) for your claims. Furthermore, due diligence helps the attorney know whether the at-fault party is trying to put forward an offer that doesn’t fully compensate you the way you deserve.

Negotiate a Fair Settlement

One of the most critical parts of hiring a personal injury lawyer is the knowledge they will demonstrate when negotiating your settlement. Bedsore attorneys have expert knowledge and legal experience that helps them deal with insurance companies, at-fault parties, and other attorneys. Expert knowledge ensures that you get due compensation for the damages caused.

It’s critical to note that personal injury lawyers or bedsore attorneys look beyond the after-incident implications of medical negligence or abuse. These lawyers look beyond the after-effect of a medical incident.

Most victims will only look at how the bedsores will affect them or their loved ones in the short term. They fail to explore the long-term implications of medical abuse or negligence and overlook certain aspects of their cases. Such failures ensure that they negotiate for a lower settlement.

Bedsore attorneys look at how an incident will affect you in the long term. They look at how bedsores and other types of personal injury will affect your life on a larger scale. These lawyers expertly estimate the long-term implications of an injury (bedsore, infections, and death) and negotiate for a fair settlement on your behalf.

Represent You in Court

While most personal injury cases are settled outside the court, there are occasions when a fair settlement cannot be achieved without a third-party, thus requiring that the case be taken to trial in a court of law.

When a case transcends outside-the-court settlement, your lawyer’s responsibility is to represent you in a court of law and continue fighting for your rights and entitlements.

And although personal injury cases are hardly taken to court, ensure that you pick a personal injury attorney who’s happy and determined to take this path should the circumstances surrounding your case demand so.

Remember that some personal injury attorneys opt for a quick settlement to save time. Quick settlements do not guarantee fair compensation. So, before engaging a lawyer, ask what their position is about taking the case to court. Assess their court experiences to ensure they do not opt for an outside-the-court settlement to close the claim without a fair settlement.

Filing a Bedsore Lawsuit

At Bedsore.Law, we believe that patients must file for a bedsore lawsuit. We believe that when a resident in a nursing home develops pressure ulcers because of a facility’s negligence, they have a legal recourse to recover due compensation.

Here are steps to reinforce your claim:

  • Take videos and pictures of the skin lesions and record the dates of each lesson.
  • Request documentation, including performance reports of professionals and practitioners involved in caring for your loved one.
  • Request a thorough explanation and documentation of the steps taken to care for your resident.
  • Obtain copies and documentation of any former allegations and negligent claims by the facility.
  • Request a list of violations, reprimands, warnings, and citations the facility previously received.
  • Do not give any written statement to the nursing facility, insurer, or at-fault parties, as the repercussions may prevent you from obtaining compensation for your claims.

It’s important to note that gathering the above documentation and information may require the services of an experienced bedsore attorney.

Bedsore.Law – Pursuing Compensation for Medical Negligence

At Bedsore.Law, we help bedsore victims seek legal redress in case of medical negligence resulting from nursing homes. Bedsores indicate that the involved nursing practitioners deliberately or unintentionally neglected their residents.

Federal and state laws demand that nursing homes provide sufficient care and ensure residents’ well-being and safety. Bedsores’ development and awful progression are clear indicators of medical abuse and negligence. 

Nursing homes are liable for resulting bedsore damages because they failed to take appropriate actions when caring for elderly patients. Failing to extend appropriate and sufficient care to nursing home residents directly violates state and federal laws, leading to liabilities for the at-fault parties.

Victims of medical abuse, negligence, and mistreatment can always explore existing legal options to ensure they get due compensation, including fair settlements.

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