I believe pressure sores can be avoided if patients receive appropriate care…especially in the hospital setting. That is why a reported medical malpractice case from New Mexico is so disturbing.
Alfred Gonzalez, age 57, fell and sustained a fractured hip. He was admitted to his local hospital for treatment and developed pressure sores on the heels of both feet. He received treatment at another facility and was ultimately discharged to his brother’s care suffering from multiple pressure sores…which took 14 months to heal.
A lawsuit was filed against the hospital alleging failure to provide adequate nutrition and care, including proper prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the pressure sores. The jury awarded substantial damages against the hospital, including punitive damages.
If any of the readers of Legal Medicine have encountered this preventable situation in the following hospitals of Southwest Virginia, we invite you to post (anomalously) your experience:
Alleghany Regional Hospital
Bath Community Hospital
Buchanan General Hospital
Carilion Bedford Memorial Hospital
Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital
Carilion Giles Memorial Hospital
Carilion New River Valley Hospital
Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital
Centra Lynchburg General Hospital
Centra Virginia Baptist Hospital
Danville Regional Medical Center
Dickenson Community Hospital
Johnston Memorial Hospital
Lewis-Gale Medical Center
Martinsville Memorial Hospital
Montgomery Regional Hospital
Norton Community Hospital
Page Memorial Hospital
Pioneer Community Hospital
Pulaski Community Hospital
Rockingham Memorial Hospital
Smyth County Community Hospital
Stonewall Jackson Hospital
Tazewell Community Hospital
Twin County Regional Healthcare
Wellmont Bristol Regional Hospital
Wellmont Lee Regional Medical Center
Wellmont Lonesome Pine Hospital
Wythe County Community Hospital