Florida Nursing Home Lawyer Blog
Recently the family of a Leesburg man who died of sepsis, allegedly developed after negligence on the part of the assisted living home staff, filed a Florida nursing home wrongful death lawsuit against the facility. Decedent’s estate alleges facility owners failed to properly fund it, in turn improperly staffing the site and leaving residents vulnerable to inadequate supervision and poor care, in this case resulting in a fatal sepsis infection.
Sepsis is a serious and often fatal blood infection. There are many infections that can lead to sepsis, especially in someone who is elderly. Within Florida nursing home wrongful death lawsuits, it’s often indicated to be a result of:
- Catheter use;
- Bed sores/ open wounds;
- IV use;
- Poor hygiene.
Although sepsis is often treatable, it must be identified and addressed swiftly. Failure to do so often results in wrongful death.
A recent report from Kaiser Health News reveals that while no one tracks sepsis cases close enough to know how often they spiral into severe infections that become fatal, the human and financial toll is believed to be enormous. A federal analysis conducted by Definitive Healthcare (a private health care information company) ascertained that between 2014 and 2016, an estimated 25,000 nursing home patients a year suffer from sepsis, are transferred to hospitals and ultimately die. This amounts to a cost of $2 billion a year.
Just in the state of Illinois, of those residents diagnosed with sepsis and transferred to hospitals, 1 in 5 did not live.
Florida Nursing Home Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed After Patient Dies of Sepsis
The complaint, according to The Daily Commercial, alleges decedent should never have been accepted into the facility anyway because his medical condition was more serious than what could have reasonably been cared for at an assisted living facility. Plaintiff claims he should have been cared for at a nursing home with greater medical capabilities from the start, and defendant facility was not properly equipped.
As a result, according to his Florida nursing home wrongful death lawsuit, he suffered falls, unexplained injuries, wounds, infections and, ultimately, the sepsis that killed him. His estate is represented by his daughter.
One of the foremost sepsis experts in Kansas told KHS that, “People don’t go to a nursing home so they can get sepsis and die. That is what is happening a lot.”
Why Sepsis is So Often Fatal for Nursing Home Patients
Fort Lauderdale nursing home wrongful death attorneys recognize that many bedridden patients, particularly those with urinary tract infections, pneumonia, feeding tubes and pressure sores, are especially prone to sepsis. The problem is that small infections can quickly become big ones in a nursing home setting.
And sickness and death as a result of sepsis is not merely a normal part of aging or living in a nursing home. In fact, it is very often an indication that you may have grounds for a Florida nursing home wrongful death lawsuit because they can stem from so-called “never” events, such as late-stage pressure sores, which are preventable so long as patients are turned every two hours and other precautions are taken.
Sepsis can also be prevented when nursing home facilities abide the stringent federal nursing home infection control standards established to minimize this harm. Despite this, the kinds of standard-of-care failures that cause sepsis still persist, widespread in nursing homes across Florida and the U.S., according to information from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Many of these Florida nursing home wrongful death lawsuits allege sepsis infections were the direct result of the nursing home’s failure to address known risks resulting in preventable harm.
Just in Illinois (wherein the KHN analysis was focused), inspection records from CMS showed nearly 95 percent of nursing homes had been cited in the last three years for at least one condition that upped the risk of sepsis infection.
Call Freeman Injury Law — 1-800-561-7777 for a free appointment to discuss your rights. Now serving Orlando, West Palm Beach, Port St. Lucie and Fort Lauderdale.
Additional Resources:
Avoidable Sepsis Infections Send Thousands Of Seniors To Gruesome Deaths, Sept. 5, 2018, By Fred Schulte and Elizabeth Lucas and Joe Mahr, Chicago Tribune and Kaiser Health News
More Blog Entries:
Bedsores, Neglect Alleged Inside VA Nursing Homes, Sept. 25, 2018, Florida Nursing Home Wrongful Death Lawsuit Blog