Nursing homes are supposed to help care for residents, not make their health issues worse. In one of our recent cases, a nursing home’s neglect caused a mother’s treatable pressure sore to become severely infected, leading to her death from sepsis. The trusted nursing home abuse team at Lanzone Morgan, LLP, pursued a wrongful death claim for her daughter and secured a substantial settlement.
Nursing Home Neglect Leads to Rapid Decline
Our client was admitted to a Fresno County subacute care home after a hospitalization for COVID-19 pneumonia. During intake, staff noted a pressure sore on her tailbone and developed a care plan that called for regular monitoring of the wound and other steps to prevent infection. However, staff did not properly follow her care plan, regularly failing to assess her wound, apply ointment, or reposition her.
While the home knew our client was incontinent and suffering from diarrhea, it made no plans to keep her bowel movements from contaminating her pressure injury. During a 16-day stay at the facility, the resident developed low blood pressure, malnutrition, dehydration, and a urinary tract infection. Staff failed to report abnormal fluctuations in her blood pressure to her doctor, and her wound had worsened significantly by the end of her stay.
Nearly a week after the staff had first identified her low blood pressure, the resident’s daughter voiced concerns about it during a visit. Less than an hour later, in response to vomiting and complaints of blindness, EMS took the resident to the hospital.
Lack of Care Leads to Our Client’s Preventable Death
Upon arrival at the emergency room, healthcare workers found our client’s pressure ulcer had progressed to stage 4. It had significantly increased in size and developed a severe necrotizing fasciitis infection. A surgeon determined she would need extensive tissue removal to address the wound, but found that it would be nearly impossible for her to survive the treatment. Her family requested that she receive comfort care instead, and she died about two weeks later from septic shock.
The subacute care home knew the level of custodial care she needed when it admitted her. However, the staff repeatedly failed to properly address her health problems. Instead of providing the appropriate treatment as her condition worsened, the facility allowed her condition to continue deteriorating until it was too late.
“And one of the main defenses in all of our cases is, whatever happened to this person wasn't because of neglect. What happened to this person was because of their underlying disease processes and their age. This was just inevitable. That's not true… People aren't supposed to get sepsis. People aren't supposed to get bed sores. Especially when the family's trying to do the right thing by entrusting the care and paying thousands of dollars so that this doesn't happen, given the family may not have the expertise to take care of their loved ones and keep them safe themselves.”
Our Team Holds the Home Accountable and Gets Justice for the Victim’s Family
We worked quickly to help get justice for the woman’s family. Our attorneys found a documented history of neglect at the home, including multiple inspections by regulators that found inadequate infection control practices. We demanded compensation for wrongful death, pain and suffering, violations of the resident’s rights under the California Elder Abuse Act, and more. We ultimately secured a fair settlement for her family.
Holding negligent nursing homes accountable in cases like this helps protect residents from future abuses. When we stand up for the rights of elders, facilities learn that putting profits over their residents’ well-being doesn’t pay.
Our experienced nursing home abuse attorneys handle cases throughout California. If your loved one has been harmed by abuse or neglect at a nursing home, call 888-887-9777 or contact us online to schedule your free consultation.