You may have heard of a bed sore before, but you may not know what it is. A bed sore, also known as a pressure sore or pressure ulcer, is when friction and pressure on the skin results in an injury to the skin and tissue underneath the skin. This is due to the prolonged nature of the contact, or constant contact, which results in the damage to the tissue. The most common locations for pressure sores are on the boney areas of skin such as the back, hips, heels, ankles, and tailbone. The longer the friction and pressure, the more damage that will result. This also means that deeper the injury will go beyond the skin, and the higher likelihood that there will be an infection. Of course, the longer the friction and pressure and the longer that the bed sore is allowed to exist, the more likely that a bed sore in a hospital is due to Oregon medical malpractice.
The symptoms and signs of a bed sore are obvious, but they vary depending on the stage of the bed sore. The most common signs include the following:
A bed sore is known as a “never event,” meaning that it should never occur in the absence of negligence. This is because hospitals have protocols to ensure that they avoid and guard against bed sores. This includes checking patients routinely, and closely monitoring patients that are at the highest risk for a bed sore such as elder patients, individuals with compromised immune systems, individuals with skin disorders, or individuals who have prolonged hospital stays who need bed rest.
Thus, the accepted standard of care is for hospital staff to check these patients to investigate the occurrence of bed sores. If a patient is identified with a bed sore, or the start of a possible bed sore, the standard of care is for a nurse or technician whom discovers the bed sore to advise the attending doctor to begin an intervention. The longer that the bed sore continues to grow, the greater the chance that an infection could result. If a patient with a bed sores begins to suffer an infection, it could lead to sepsis and become life-threatening.
The simple truth is that no patient should suffer from a bed sore with the appropriate level of care from a healthcare provider. But when a bed sore does occur in a hospital, patients should call our Oregon medical malpractice lawyer to learn what your rights to compensation may be.
Our law office is located in Bend, Oregon, and we handle cases throughout Oregon including Portland, Eugene, Salem, Gresham, and throughout Central Oregon, Deschutes County, and more generally in Oregon. We also have an office in Minnesota. To receive a FREE consultation, please call our Oregon medical malpractice lawyer by dialing (541) 385-1999 or use our easy and convenient “contact us” box at the bottom of our website. If we accept your case, we will conduct a FREE investigation to get you the answers that you deserve regarding your hospital bed sore case.