By Nursing Home Law Center
Absolutely. Bed sores are not a condition isolated to the elderly. In many circumstances, younger patients in nursing homes and hospitals face many of the same risk factors that their contemporaries encounter: remaining in one position for extended periods of time, being kept in soiled linens for extended periods and general neglect by staff when they fail to appreciate the warning signs related to the early signs of a bed sore (similarly referred to as: pressure sore, pressure ulcer or decubitus ulcer).
What makes younger people even more susceptible to develop bed sores during an admission to a hospital or nursing home is the fact that many staff at the facility fail to appreciate the risks given their age. Consequently, many of the well-known preventative measures may never get implemented in younger patients as their may be a wrongful assumption that younger patients are not at risk or may be capable of caring for themselves.
In situations where a younger people has developed an advanced bed sore, they may require many of the same medical procedures used for treating pressure sores in patients of all ages. Many doctors and medical facilities may employ the following techniques to heal bed sores in younger patients:
In certain circumstances, a patients youthful vigor may indeed allow them to survive some of the medical complications and rehabilitation associated with advanced bed sores. However, many younger patients who survive the recovery process may require future medical care to monitor complications or a lifetime faced with disability.
Like all cases involving the negligence of a hospital, doctor or nursing home– the injured party has the burden of establishing that the individual or entity they are pursuing failed to meet the standard of care in the community. Demonstrating the negligence of a party may be accomplished through a variety of methods such as with the use of expert medical testimony from physicians or nurses with a particular type of knowledge about wound care.
Once the negligence of the facility has been established, the damages associated with the injury can be addressed. In the case of a bed sore lawsuit, damages may include:
Damages for younger patients must be carefully addressed as many will face a lifetime of medical care due to a bed sore. Lawyers representing younger people with bed sores may further use the services of a: life-care planner — a doctor or specially trained professional who can assess what type of medical care and supplies an injured person may require in the future and an economist — to help calculate a present value for the future care or lost wages. Certainly, in cases where a younger person has developed a bed sore at a medical facility it is imperative to evaluate the case based upon the both the immediate harm and future needs of the individual.
Chicago Lawyer Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home