Every family that has to make the difficult decision to place their loved one in a nursing home does so with the expectation that they will receive the best care, attention, and supervision possible to ensure a healthy and happy quality of life.
While elderly nursing home residents have a greater risk of complications related to their health simply due to age and frailty, there are certain conditions that should never occur. If your loved one experienced an untreated infection, they might have suffered serious physical pain and need additional medical treatments, including surgeries. Some untreated infections can result in permanent and life-long medical complications for the elderly.
If your loved one developed an infection in a nursing home and the nursing home staff failed to identify and treat it appropriately, consider calling our legal team at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm at (800) 842-6336. A Jacksonville untreated infections lawyer might be able to help you with your next steps.
Diagnosing Infections in Elderly Residents of Nursing Homes
Under the Nursing Home Reform Act, elderly residents of nursing homes have the right to expect and receive consistent monitoring and care. Daily inspections should monitor whether or not a resident has developed any type of bedsore, respiratory, viral, or bacterial infection.
Nursing homes have a tendency to spread infections among residents quickly, simply because of the close quarters where all residents live. As a result, it remains imperative for nursing homes to continually monitor their residents for any signs of infections. Any infection in an elderly person can result in a serious or life-threatening condition quickly.
Time is generally of the essence when identifying and diagnosing infections in elderly residents of nursing homes. Some of the ways that a nursing home can continually monitor for infections in elderly residents include:
- Checking temperatures on a consistent basis
- Looking for signs of dehydration or malnourishment
- Checking heart rates
- Identifying wounds (such as bedsores) that become red, swollen, hot to the touch, inflamed, or dark in color
- Monitoring catheter bags for blood or pus
- Noticing changed mental states
- Identifying sweating (a sign of fever) or flushed appearance
- Checking for respiratory or breathing problems
Nursing homes should always have a nurse on staff, as well as the ability to discuss a potential infection with a doctor. As soon as any symptoms of infection present themselves in a resident of a nursing home, they should receive immediate diagnostic testing and perhaps even go to a hospital for additional and more intensive care and treatment.
Types of Infections in Nursing Homes
There are some types of infections that tend to appear in nursing homes simply due to the demographic of the nursing home that lives in close quarters to each other. Some of the types of infections that may develop in elderly residents of nursing homes include:
- COVID-19
- Urinary tract infections
- Strep throat
- Influenza (Flu)
- Respiratory infections
- Gastrointestinal infections (C-diff infections, etc.)
- Bedsores or pressure ulcers that fail to heal quickly
- Strep throat
- Pneumonia
- Methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and/or staphylococcus aureus (Staph infections)
- Blood infections
- Meningitis
Some infections will spread quickly throughout the population of a nursing home, such as COVID-19, respiratory infections, and gastrointestinal infections. Therefore, it remains critical that nursing home staff employees consistently monitor the residents of a nursing home for any signs of infections in order to catch them early enough to provide appropriate treatment.
Every nursing home should have an established procedure they follow to ensure that residents receive not only constant monitoring but also what steps to take once an infection develops. Failure to do so could rise to the level of nursing home neglect or nursing home abuse.
For a free legal consultation with a Untreated Infections Lawyer serving Jacksonville, call (800) 794-0444
Untreated Infections in Elderly Residents of Nursing Homes
Untreated infections in elderly residents of nursing homes can result in life-threatening complications, permanent medical complications, or even death. Infections often quickly escalate in the elderly due to their weakened immune systems and overall frailty.
If infections are left untreated for too long, they may develop into sepsis, which is a life-threatening emergency. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that sepsis is the body’s response to an infection left untreated anywhere in the body, which can lead rapidly to organ failure, tissue damage, and death.
If you notice that your loved one has any symptoms of an untreated infection, you should alert the nursing home staff immediately. If your loved one developed an untreated infection that turned into sepsis in a nursing home, consider calling Pintas & Mullins Law Firm. A Jacksonville untreated infections lawyer might be able to help you receive compensation for your loved one’s medical bills and suffering.
Jacksonville Untreated Infections Lawyer Near Me (800) 794-0444
How Calling Our Legal Team Can Help Your Loved One
Many elderly residents will develop infections simply due to their age or other medical conditions. However, some outbreaks can be caused by negligence, and when a nursing home does not treat your loved one’s infection, they should pay for the consequences.
While the prevention of infections may not be a realistic goal, infections that do develop should not remain untreated for any period of time. If your loved one developed any type of infection in a nursing home that remained untreated, learn more about your legal rights by hiring a Jacksonville untreated infections lawyer. Call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm at (800) 842-6336.
Our legal team can explain how we can help your loved one receive compensation for their medical expenses related to the untreated infection, as well as compensation for their pain and suffering or other losses.
Call or text (800) 794-0444 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
