Nursing Home Faces Lawsuit After Patient is Found with Maggot-Infested Wound

This case is an indication of just how far nursing home neglect can go. Understaffed facilities provide substandard care to vulnerable patients who cannot voice their own discomfort.

In this case, a Charlotte nursing home is facing a lawsuit after a resident’s wound became infested with maggots, prompting her grandson to file a nursing home neglect lawsuit against the facility and its owners.

The 81-year-old dementia patient developed a maggot-infested wound four months after recovering from COVID-19 while a resident at University Place Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

The resident’s grandson filed a lawsuit alleging that the nursing home was negligent for its failure to maintain cleanliness and sanitation at the facility.

The victim had been living at University Place for about a year when she contracted the COVID-19 virus and was temporarily transferred to a facility that specialized in COVID-19 treatment. Once she returned, she developed bed sores on her heel. This wound later became infested with maggots.

According to the nursing home neglect lawsuit, by August 2021, maggots were found in the resident’s wound. The nursing home’s staff allegedly failed to take appropriate action. The medical director reportedly ordered the wound to be cleaned with vinegar and water without having examined the wound personally.

After the grandson received a video of the wound from one of the nurses, he insisted that his grandmother be taken to the hospital. He subsequently filed a complaint with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, which led to fines and corrective measures at the facility.

The plaintiff’s lawsuit is seeking compensatory damages and a trial by jury amid their concerns about care standards in nursing homes.

Elements of negligence in a nursing home neglect lawsuit 

Nursing homes are responsible for ensuring that their patients receive the prevailing standard of care for the profession. When they fail in this duty of care, they can be sued by the resident themselves or by family members who file a suit on the resident’s behalf.

Nursing home neglect lawsuits making allegations concerning infected bedsores are not unusual at all. In fact, a large cross-section of nursing home neglect lawsuits make allegations related to infected bedsores. What’s unusual here is the extent of the infection. In order for maggots to find a home in a wound, there must be considerable dead tissue. This is because maggots only eat dead tissue from the wound. Maggots have been traditionally used to clean wounds. For an infection of maggots to set in on a patient’s wound, it must indicate an extreme failure by the staff to pay attention to the needs of their patients.

Talk to a Champaign, IL Nursing Home Neglect Attorney Today 

The Champaign nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys at Patel Law, PC represent the interests of grieving family members and patients in nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuits. Call our office today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin investigating your case right away.

Source:

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