Bedsores After A Short Hospital Stay? It Happens And It Can Be Due To Malpractice.
Bedsores are a common ailment among the elderly and disabled - but they can also happen to younger, healthier people who are temporarily recovering from injuries or surgery. If you've developed bedsores after a short hospital trip, can you sue for negligence?
What Are Bedsores?
Also known as pressure ulcers, bedsores usually develop on bony areas of the body like heels, ankles, hips, shoulder blades and base of the spine. They're essentially skin lesions caused by a combination of your body's own weight on the bed for an extended period of time, friction, moisture (like sweat), and temperature.
They can generally be prevented by making sure that patients who aren't able to move themselves are turned and repositioned every few hours. If bedsores do develop, quick treatment can usually resolve the problem. Left untreated, the wounds can become infected, lead to organ failure, become cancerous and even cause death.
What Makes You Especially Vulnerable?
Most medical professionals realize that elderly patients and people in comas are at risk for bedsores, but they often forget that other conditions can also put someone at risk for bedsores as well.
For example, some medications, like steroids, can make the skin more fragile or thin, increasing the likelihood that bedsores will develop. So can some medical conditions, such as diabetes. Other patients at risk include:
- those on heavy-duty painkillers. If you can't recognize pain due to morphine or other painkillers, you might not change positions or realize that you have a bedsore starting.
- those who are incontinent. Temporary incontinence can cause major problems because the moisture from both the urine and being washed off can cause the skin to soften and break down.
- smokers. Heavy nicotine use damages skin cells and reduces circulation, which makes healing difficult.
- people who are mentally or verbally impaired for any reason. Post-surgical confusion, medication, fever, or infection can cause delirium. That could leave you unable to let anyone know that you're in pain.
What Should You Do If You Develop Bedsores?
If you develop bedsores during a brief hospital stay, it's important to note the circumstances that led to the problem. Take note of whether or not you suffer from any conditions that put you at increased risk for bedsores. If friends or relatives were there when you were admitted, ask them to jot down who they think was made aware of your condition, and when.
Once you're released from the hospital, keep track of any treatment that you receive for your bedsores from that point forward. Ask someone to take photographs of your sores from the time they are first seen until the time they finally heal so that you also have a visual record that can be used as evidence of your suffering.
Contact an attorney that specializes in medical malpractice and personal injury as soon as possible if you've developed bedsores after a hospital stay. Because the laws regarding medical malpractice are so complex, you want to seek an attorney's advice quickly, in order to best preserve your rights. Click here to learn more about medical malpractice lawyers in your area.
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