Accidents do not cause bedsore injuries. But you can suffer from bedsores while recovering from a traumatic injury. Contrary to their name, bedsores do not develop solely in bedridden patients. You can develop these pressure ulcers while resting in bed, sitting in a wheelchair, or even standing on prosthetic limbs.
If you suffer a traumatic injury, you can pursue compensation for all of its effects, including bedsores. You can also use these sores to prove medical errors or nursing home abuse or neglect.
A lawyer from WGK Personal Injury Lawyers can review the causes and effects of your bedsores and outline your options for pursuing compensation in Dundalk, MD. Call now at (410) 970-3080 to schedule a free initial consultation.
Table of Contents
How WGK Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help If You or a Loved One Have Suffered Bedsore Injuries in Dundalk, MD
Since its founding, WGK Personal Injury Lawyers has helped people injured in Dundalk, Maryland, to pursue financial compensation from those responsible for their harm. Our Dundalk personal injury lawyers have decades years of combined legal experience and have recovered over millions for the firm’s clients.
If you or a family member suffer a bedsore injury, our attorneys can provide:
- Legal counsel to explain your rights so you can make informed decisions
- An investigation into what caused the bedsores and who might be responsible for them, such as a negligent healthcare provider or nursing home
- Negotiating skills to try to settle your case without waiting for a trial
- Aggressive litigators to take insurers and at-fault parties to court if they won’t settle
An accident can lead to many life-changing complications, such as blood clots, bedsores, and infections. Additionally, nursing home abuse and medical malpractice can lead to complications, including bedsore injuries.
Contact our Dundalk personal injury attorneys for a free consultation to discuss all the effects of your injuries and how to pursue compensation for them.
Are Bedsores Common?
Doctors estimate that 2.5 million people in the U.S. develop bedsores annually. This gives an overall incidence rate across all hospital departments of about 12%. In other words, if you get admitted to a hospital, you have roughly a 12% chance of developing a bedsore.
Those most susceptible to bedsores include patients who are:
- Confined to bed
- Wearing a cast
- Unconscious or comatose
- Immobile or sitting for long periods
Bedsores do not occur uniformly across all hospital wards. The study that estimated 12% of patients develop bedsores also estimated that about 18.5% of patients in the orthopedic surgery ward develop bedsores, while only 6% of patients develop them while in the emergency room.
Bedsore injuries are also common in nursing home residents. This could be due to neglect or abuse, depending on the circumstances. The facility could be understaffed and unable to provide an adequate amount of treatment and attention to each resident.
If your loved one suffered bedsores in one of these facilities, a Dundalk nursing home abuse lawyer can help.
What Are the Causes and Effects of Bedsore Injuries?
Pressure ulcers happen when pressure on your body blocks the circulation of blood to your skin and connective tissues. These cells, like all cells in your body, require oxygen for cell metabolism, and they will die when they cannot get it. Red blood cells deliver oxygen to the skin and connective tissues and carry away carbon dioxide waste.
Your skin has three layers. The outer layer, called the epidermis, provides a water-resistant barrier to keep contaminants and microorganisms out of your body while keeping moisture in.
The middle layer, called the dermis, contains many of the structures you associate with your skin, including:
- Nerve endings
- Blood vessels
- Hair follicles
- Sweat glands
The bottom layer, called the hypodermis, connects the skin to the fat and muscle underneath it.
Pressure on your skin can cut off blood circulation to these layers. You can liken this effect to stepping on a garden hose. And just as your garden dies without water, your skin dies without oxygen carried by the blood.
What Are the Symptoms of Bedsores?
Pressure ulcers produce many symptoms, including:
- Discolored skin that looks red, blue, or purple
- Warm patches of skin
- Pain
Over time, the discolored areas can weaken and form open sores. These sores may leak fluid. As the tissues under the sores die, you can develop craters or depressions in the skin.
In the early stages, pressure ulcers can heal. Your body will revive some cells once circulation resumes. Any dead cells will get carried away by the blood and filtered by the kidneys. At later stages, however, bedsores can cause serious complications, including infection and massive tissue death. These kinds of complications may leave you with disfiguring tissue loss and scars.
Risk Factors For Bedsores
You have a risk of bedsores anywhere you have something pressing on your body, whether the object is a bed, cast, wheelchair, or prosthetic device.
Pressure ulcers are most likely to develop where the bones are close to the skin, including:
- Heels
- Tailbone
- Hips
- Knees
- Skull
For example, someone who suffers a brain injury that renders them comatose might develop bedsores on the back of their head due to the pressure of their bed.
Compensation For Bedsores
The law entitles you to compensation for all the losses caused by someone’s intentional or negligent conduct. Causation has two parts. A cause-in-fact logically and naturally leads to the injury. A proximate cause foreseeably results in harm.
Bedsores are a well-known condition. If someone’s wrongful actions injured you or a loved one, your claim usually includes the pressure ulcers produced by that disability. Similarly, if a healthcare provider fails to rotate you, they typically bear liability for the bedsores that develop.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Dundalk Personal Injury Lawyers To Discuss Compensation For Bedsores
Bodily injuries produce a cascade of effects, including bedsores that can permanently disable and disfigure you. Contact WGK Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to discuss your injuries and the financial compensation you can seek for them.