Can You Sue a Hospital for Pressure Injuries?

When you entrust the care of your loved one to a hospital, you never expect them to become worse off from their stay. However, pressure injuries can develop when hospitals provide negligent care or are inattentive to patients’ needs. Pressure injuries are not only extremely painful for patients, but they can also be dangerous and even life-threatening under certain conditions.

If a hospital or care facility has been negligent with your loved one, you may be able to sue for compensation after they develop pressure injuries. Know your rights as a patient and a caregiver, and understand when and how to file a pressure injury lawsuit with the experts at Shelsby and Leoni.

What Are Pressure Injuries?

Pressure injuries are also known as pressure ulcers or decubitus ulcers. Pressure injuries tend to develop in patients who have limited mobility. Because of this, hospital patients can be especially at risk when they are confined to their beds or a wheelchair.

Pressure injuries damage the skin as well as the tissue below the skin. They’re often found on bony areas of the body, like hips, elbows, and tailbone, as well as on areas that might be in constant contact with sheets or bedding, like the backs of the ears, shoulder blades, or heels.

While pressure injuries are often associated with confinement, they can develop more quickly than you might think. Pressure injuries can arise after a matter of hours or days. When untreated, they can worsen swiftly and can lead to infections, loss of limb, tissue damage, and death.

Pressure Injuries Are Grouped by Severity

Pressure injuries are classified in four stages. Stage 1 pressure injuries are the least severe, while stage 4 pressure injuries can result in serious and irreversible damage to bones, tendons, and muscles. Stage 1 and 2 pressure injuries are typically treated with repositioning patients to provide pressure relief as well as salves, frequent changes, and nutritional support.

Stage 3 and 4 pressure injuries, however, may require surgery, antibiotics, and additional medical intervention. More serious pressure injuries can have a crater-like appearance and may drain pus or blood from a deep wound in subcutaneous tissue. Some of the most powerful evidence in pressure injury lawsuits is simply images of the wound, which can be both wide and deep, as well as give off warning smells from necrosis, or tissue death.

It can be impossible to believe that a healthcare professional would not spot a more serious or advanced pressure injury like this, but unfortunately, in care settings like some nursing homes and hospitals, pressure injuries may be left alone and can swiftly progress to the worst stages.

When Is a Hospital Liable for Pressure Injuries?

Nurses and staff at hospitals are responsible for spotting pressure injuries as well as minimizing the friction, moisture, pressure, and shear that all contribute to their formation. While any patient can develop an initial pressure injury, the condition is often associated with poor conditions, understaffing, lack of cleanliness, and lack of attention or care. Pressure injuries that progress past stage 1 are usually a serious red flag.

When hospitals do not address pressure injuries in patients or when they fail to spot and treat them, they may be held liable for the harm that they cause. Patients who develop a stage 2, stage 3, or stage 4 pressure injury may be at serious risk for complications and life-threatening conditions. If the problem has progressed this far, especially if multiple patients are suffering from pressure injuries, it may often be a sign that the standard of care at a hospital is not adequate.

If the Hospital Admits Responsibility for Pressure Injuries, Do You Still Need a Lawyer?

Admitting responsibility is not the same as fixing the problem or providing compensation to you and your family for the harm done. If the hospital admits wrongdoing, so much the better – but it will not directly compensate the parties involved for their pain, suffering, additional medical bills, and even wrongful death costs. For this, you will need to work with a pressure injury attorney to file a lawsuit.

Examples of Hospital Negligence that Lead to Pressure Injuries

Nurses and doctors have been blowing the whistle on understaffed shifts and overcrowded conditions for some time now. Many health care workers perceive the nursing shortage as intentional on the part of hospitals to lower labor costs, while staff are expected to shoulder greater burdens than ever in the post-COVID landscape. Hospitals that intentionally underhire, understaff, or undertrain can be held accountable for a breach of duty.

Hospitals owe a duty of care to their patients. When they fail to meet this standard, they can cause serious harm as well as be held liable. Some examples of hospital negligence might include:

• The failure to regularly reposition patients: Repositioning a patient with a pressure injury is one way to minimize pressure and limit the damage. Failure to reposition a patient can lead to blistering, broken skin, or infection.
• Inadequate staffing/failure to monitor the patient: Understaffed facilities may not have the resources to adequately monitor patients and check for pressure injuries. Even when nurses may want to provide the best care possible, when they are chronically understaffed, continually training new hires, or working with inexperienced coworkers, patient care can suffer.
• Improper use of medical equipment: Chafing and shear from medical equipment both can contribute to pressure injuries as much as patient positioning does.
• Delayed or insufficient treatment: Pressure injuries can develop even under clean and adequate conditions, and oftentimes, the patient recovers well if the issue is caught early on and they are kept clean, dry, well-nourished, and in a different position than what caused the initial pressure ulcer. However, when a nurse or caregiver fails to notice or to address a pressure injury, they can contribute to a dangerous situation, like cellulitis, nerve damage, bone and joint infections like septic arthritis and osteomyelitis, certain cancers, and sepsis.

How Do You Prove Medical Negligence in a Pressure Injury Lawsuit?

Pressure injury lawsuits hinge upon the fact that the hospital owed the patient a duty of care, that the standard was breached, and that their negligence caused compensable harm. A pressure injury lawyer can help close the gap between understanding how the problem came to be and illustrating the harm done by a hospital’s negligence.

At Shelsby and Leoni, we can help build a claim that directly links the hospital’s actions or lack thereof to the pain and suffering the patient experienced. Linking the pressure injury to the hospital’s negligent standards is the first step to making a case for damages and compensation. Our firm will also help prove medical negligence by building up evidence of the pressure injury, any additional complications that ensued, costs and complications for your family, similar settlement amounts, and a prior history of neglect.

How Long Do You Have to File a Lawsuit for Pressure Injuries in Delaware?

Del. Code tit. 18, §6856 gives a statute of limitations for two years from the date of injury for medical malpractice claims. However, filing as soon as possible greatly increases your chances of a successful settlement due to the availability of evidence as well as timely action. Do not wait until the two-year deadline is close before you contact a pressure injury lawyer and begin your claim.

Compensation You Can Recover for Injuries from Pressure Injuries

A pressure injury lawyer will request many different areas of compensation from your claim. Examples of compensation might include:

• Your medical bills and treatment, including prescriptions, hospital bills, and medical devices
• Any lost income as a result of your time recovering and your injuries
• The pain and suffering you endured as a result of the pressure injury, as well as its complications
• Punitive damages against a health care facility with a pattern of abuse and neglect
• Payments that account for the severity of your injuries
• In wrongful death cases, burial and funeral costs, as well as additional payments for loss of income as well as consortium and companionship

Finally, filing a pressure injury lawsuit can result not only in compensation for the harm done but also in better standards and improved care. A civil claim can hold a bad facility accountable through damages and fines that are paid to the patient and their family. This can also incentivize them to make positive changes and subject a dangerous facility to increased scrutiny and monitoring for negligence.

What You Can Do to Reduce the Risk of Pressure Injuries

Know the risks of pressure injuries and what you can do to help prevent them in patients. The most common risk factors for someone developing a pressure injury are:

• Immobility: This can affect patients in the ICU, those recovering from spinal cord injuries, knee or hip surgeries, or those on bed rest after illnesses.
• Incontinence: Moisture creates a heightened risk of pressure injuries as well as secondary infection. Older patients should be checked frequently when they may be incontinent.
• Lack of sensation or awareness: Patients with spinal cord injuries that result in a lack of feeling or temporary or total paralysis may need additional care to avoid pressure injuries, as they may not have the impulse to move that might protect another person. Likewise, patients with Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s are at heightened risk, as they may not be aware to turn over from the same position.
• Dehydration: Lack of water or poor nutrition can increase the skin’s vulnerability to pressure injuries and subsequent infection.
• Older patients: Being above 70 is connected to an increased risk of pressure injuries.
• Blood flow issues: Certain conditions associated with limited blood flow, like cardiovascular issues and diabetes, are associated with tissue damage and pressure injuries.

Volunteer to comb a loved one’s hair or reposition them to check for pressure injuries. If you spot any of these warning signs when visiting a loved one, bring them immediately to the attention of the hospital staff and the nurse on call. If you are concerned about the quality of care they are receiving, escalate your concerns at once and consider speaking to a pressure injury lawyer.

How Can a Lawyer Help with a Pressure Injury Case?

When your loved one has a pressure injury, it can be paralyzing to wonder if they are in good hands. Take action – document the pressure injury, ask questions about their care, and spend time with them to observe conditions at the hospital. Take notes on what you observe and bring them to a pressure injury lawyer.

The civil justice system can provide help with a pressure injury lawsuit. You might be able to recover not only compensation from your case but also shine a light on neglectful conditions and bad practices in a healthcare setting so that others do not suffer the same way in the future.

An attorney at Shelsby and Leoni can ensure that you are not alone in the fight and that you file with full knowledge of the law, understanding of the compensation you might receive, as well as possible hurdles that the hospital administration may put in your way. Our team is by your side every step of the way, strengthening your claim and advocating for patient rights as well as your own needs.

Talk to a Lawyer if You or a Loved One Suffered Pressure Injuries in a Hospital

If you or a loved one has had a hospital stay that resulted in pressure injuries, contact Shelsby and Leoni for a consultation about your case. A nursing home abuse lawyer is available to contextualize your claim and review all of the relevant details. Our experts can ensure that you do not miss out on the opportunity to sue a hospital, nursing home, or health care facility within the correct time frame and jurisdiction for compensation, so contact us today.