Prince George's Nursing Home Pressure Sore Lawsuit
Brown v. Manor Care of Wheaton This nursing home negligence claim was filed in Prince George's County after a man residing at Manor Care in Wheaton sustained six pressure ulcers and was hospitalized for hypoglycemia. It was filed in Health Claims Arbitration on February 16, 2018, and it is the 81st medical malpractice case filed in Maryland this year.
Summary of Plaintiff's Allegations After a hospitalization for severe hip pain at Holy Cross Hospital, a man was discharged to HCR ManonCare Wheaton for physical therapy. Ten days later, the man was re-admitted to the hospital for hypoglycemia. He was a diabetic and his blood sugar levels had not been properly monitored or managed at Manor Care.
When hospital staff performed a physical examination, they discovered six new deep tissue injuries on the man's body that hadn't been there during his last hospitalization. He had a stage three pressure ulcer and an unstageable pressure wound on his right buttock, a stage three pressure ulcer on his gluteal fold, and three blisters on his left foot.
Additional Comments - Pressure ulcers, also known as bedsores, are tissue injuries that can result from prolonged pressure on an area of the skin. When bedsores occur in nursing homes, it is often because immobile patients are not repositioned frequently enough and the skin on their back, tailbone, or heels has to bear their full body weight for extended periods of time. Pressure wounds can form quickly, but with proper care and regular examinations, they should never progress past stage one or two. According to government agencies, stage three and four pressure sores typically happen as a result of negligence. Medicare calls a bed sore a "never event" which is a medical error that is clearly identifiable, preventable, and dangerous to patients.
- The reason a pressure ulcer is a never event is that they are largely preventable with proper care. Preventative measures include special mattresses and frequent, regular changes of position of the patient to avoid prolonged pressure on one area.
- Did diabetes play a role in the development of these bedsores? Probably. Metastatic calcifications, also referred to as calcific uremic arteriolopathy or calciphylaxis, are going to travel with diabetes and increase susceptibility to bedsores. .But the nursing home needs to know which patients are at the greatest risk. One tool is the Braden Scale, or Braden Skin Assessment, to document the risk that a patient might develop a bed sore. The Braden Scale consists of a number of criteria, each of which has a numerical value. The total score determines the level of risk. Diabetes is going to raise that score.
- This Wheaton facility is actually one of the better rated ManorCare nursing homes in Maryland.
Jurisdiction Defendants - Manor Care of Wheaton MD, LLC
Hospitals Where Patient was Treated Negligence - Failing to properly monitor the claimant's diabetes.
- Failing to address the claimant's worsening diabetic condition.
- Failing to provide proper preventative care to avoid pressure sores and blisters.
- Failing to provide the claimant with a height-appropriate bed.
- Failing to recognize and treat the claimant's pressure sores and blisters once they developed.
Specific Counts Pled - As a result of the defendants' negligence, the claimant suffered severe and permanent injuries.
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