Some of my angriest clients contact me after a loved one was transferred from a nursing home to another nursing home or hospital only to learn of serious medical problems their loved one likely acquired during their original admission.

Of course, breaking disappointing news is difficult for anyone to do. Yet, in the case of nursing homes— this is something they simply are required to do under the law. Similarly, nursing homes must notify the patients doctor if their condition deteriorates.

I see many cases where there is no doubt an intention on the part of the original facility to cover up change in condition– but also injuries related to situations involving improper care.

This situation of a dangerous condition being discovered only after the patient was transferred to a hospital was highlighted in a recent lawsuit filed against an Illinois Nursing Home, Alhambra Care Center. Part of the lawsuit alleges that the patient lived that the nursing home with multiple health problems, but the staff at the facility failed to notify the family of the conditions including:

Stage III decubitus ulcer
Multiple stage I and II decubitus ulcers on the patients feet
Dehydration
Urinary tract infection

None of the conditions were disclosed to the family until after the patient was admitted to a local hospital.

In cases such as these– perhaps more alarming than not notifying the patients family as the various problems their loved one has developed– is the fact that the facility allowed the conditions to develop in the first place. My guess is that the facility was so ashamed of the condition they allowed their patient to get into that they failed to document the conditions during the patients stay at the facility either.

Some of these situations may give way to a claim against the nursing home where the condition developed. In addition to contacting an attorney to discuss your legal options, you should give serious consideration to locating another facility for your loved one following their discharge from the hospital.

Dehydration & The Development Of Bed Sores In Nursing Home And Hospital Patients

Untreated Urinary Tract Infections In Nursing Home Patients May Result In Urosepsis

Why do nursing homes describe pressure sores according to ‘stages’?

Are bed sores on the heels common?