There are many injuries in nursing homes. The same facilities that claim to care for tens of thousands of nursing home residents also cause severe injuries to them every year. Several things, including abuse or neglect, can bring on these injuries. In the worst situations, they may be fatal, and their severity can vary from mild to severe.
You need to educate yourself on the most frequent injury kinds that happen in assisted living facilities, the warning signs of abuse or neglect, and what legal recourses you have if you or a loved one is harmed there. Speak to a Des Moines nursing home injury lawyer if you want to report a nursing home abuse case.
Types of nursing home injuries
1. Bedsores
Bedsores result from excessive pressure on the skin caused by immobility. They may cause excruciating pain, and an infection may develop in extreme circumstances. Repositioning is crucial because residents of nursing homes may lie in bed for extended periods with little to no movement.
In addition, sedation, post-operative recovery, and poor health can result in bedsores. The sores may turn into unbearably painful ulcers that could cause sepsis, cancer, or even death if they are not treated.
2. Broken Bones and Fractures
A patient’s age-related changes, such as poor balance or vision loss, may put them at a higher risk of falls and slips when admitted to a nursing home. Furthermore, patients may slip and fall on damp surfaces in poorly kept restrooms or hallways that have not been thoroughly cleaned. Staff members working in nursing homes may not have closely monitored these injuries.
Because the bodies of elderly patients might not recover as well as they once did, broken bones and fractures brought on by falls can be extremely dangerous. Even after a fracture heals, osteoporosis and arthritis can restrict movement.
3. Dehydration and Malnutrition
Malnutrition & dehydration are brought on by inadequate diet & hydration. In addition to other health problems like infections, disorientation, & weakened immune systems, these illnesses can cause unintentional weight loss.
Several issues in nursing homes, such as inadequate staffing, a high rate of nurse turnover, a lack of individualized care, & failure to provide necessities for senior citizens, can result in dehydration & malnutrition. Additionally linked to neurological disorders like stroke, Parkinson’s disease, & swallowing difficulties is this type of injury. Regretfully, a recent study found that dehydration & malnutrition affect about 40% of nursing home residents.
4. Asphyxiation
Asphyxiation occurs when patients do not receive enough airflow to breathe correctly. A possible cause could be an obstruction in the airway; this is a common occurrence in nursing home patients with feeding tube users or respiratory conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Asphyxiation must be treated medically immediately because it can result in brain damage or even death.
