Can a Nursing Home Be Liable for a Bedsore That Was Already There?

Can a Nursing Home Be Liable for a Bedsore That Was Already There?

Few decisions are harder than realizing your loved one needs more care than you can provide at home. Many families make the difficult choice to move a parent or grandparent into a nursing home after seeing bedsores develop or worsen, trusting that trained staff and medical oversight will finally bring relief and healing.

It can be devastating, then, to see the opposite happen. Instead of improving, the bedsores get worse, and you are left wondering whether something went wrong after admission and whether the nursing home bears responsibility. The answer is yes. A nursing home may still be liable for a bedsore that existed before admission if:

• The facility failed to create or follow an appropriate care plan upon admission
• Documentation shows staff failed to monitor, document, or treat the wound properly
• Medical experts can link the worsening condition to inadequate care after admission

At Roy Injury Law, we have handled nursing home negligence cases for over 35 years. Many of these claims stem from conditions that existed before a person entered a nursing home. We are here to help you better understand the intricacies of pre-existing conditions in nursing home claims so you can seek proper justice for your loved one.

Do Nursing Homes Have a Duty to Prevent Pre-Existing Conditions From Getting Worse?

The most important thing you need to know is that a pre-existing bedsore does not eliminate the nursing home’s responsibility. Once a facility accepts a resident, it assumes a legal duty to provide reasonable care and to protect that person from avoidable harm.

Staff are expected to:

• Monitor pressure ulcers and document any changes in size or stage
• Reposition residents regularly to relieve pressure on affected areas
• Provide appropriate wound care and coordinate with physicians
• Maintain proper nutrition and hydration to support healing

A facility cannot blame the resident’s condition before admission if the wound deteriorates under their care. If your loved one’s bedsore worsened while in a nursing home, you should investigate what happened as soon as possible.

What Should a Nursing Home Do When a Resident Arrives With an Existing Bedsore?

Families who want to know if a nursing home is liable for a loved one’s pre-existing bedsore should first look at how the facility treated them upon arrival. A detailed intake process is fundamental to proper wound care. When a resident is admitted with a bedsore, staff should:

• Conduct a complete skin and wound assessment
• Document the wound’s size, stage, location, and current condition
• Develop an individualized care plan that addresses that specific wound
• Coordinate between nurses, physicians, and wound care specialists
• Reassess the wound regularly and update the care plan as needed

A nursing home’s failure to create an initial care plan upon arrival can be a strong indicator of negligence.

How Can Families Tell the Difference Between Natural Progression and Neglect?

After reviewing the initial care plan, you should also look at how the nursing home handled ongoing wound treatment. Some severe pressure ulcers can worsen despite appropriate care. However, certain warning signs point to negligence rather than natural decline:

• Missing or inconsistent wound measurement records
• No documented repositioning schedule
• Delayed treatment or failure to notify a physician
• Wounds advancing to higher stages without explanation
• New pressure ulcers are developing after admission
• Signs of infection, unexplained weight loss, or visible deterioration

Nursing home records frequently become critical evidence. Gaps in documentation, falsified logs, or a lack of any care plan at all can tell a story on their own.

How Can You Prove a Bedsore Worsened After Nursing Home Admission?

Families might worry they may struggle to win a claim if a bedsore existed before admission. The legal focus, however, is on whether the nursing home’s actions or inactions caused the condition to decline. Even if the facility claims the injury was inevitable, certain evidence can demonstrate that proper care could have prevented further harm.

To build a case, families can gather specific documentation:

• Admission records: These papers show the bedsore’s condition when the resident arrived.
• Treatment notes: A detailed log of all wound care the staff provided.
• Wound progression photos: Visual proof of how the bedsore changed over time.
• Hospital records: If the resident was hospitalized for the bedsore, these records offer an outside medical opinion.

Medical experts can compare these documents to determine if the nursing home followed the standard of care. This comparison can reveal whether the facility’s neglect contributed to the bedsore worsening.

When Should Families Consider Speaking With a Bedsore Attorney?

While strong evidence is important in a bedsore case, strong legal representation is even more so. You should consider speaking with a nursing home negligence attorney if:

• A loved one’s bedsore became significantly worse after admission
• The facility cannot explain the deterioration
• There are signs of missed care, poor staffing, or inadequate wound management
• The resident developed infections, required hospitalization, or experienced other complications

Families who sought nursing home care to improve a loved one’s quality of life should not have to accept preventable harm.

You Deserve Answers. We Can Help You Find Them.

A nursing home cannot avoid liability simply because a resident arrived with a bedsore. Once a facility accepts a resident, it is responsible for assessing the condition, building a care plan, and taking reasonable steps to prevent the wound from getting worse.

If your loved one’s pressure ulcer worsened after admission, reach out to Roy Injury Law to see if you have a valid case. Our attorneys, Chris J. Roy and Jon J. Roy, are third and fourth-generation Louisiana attorneys who care deeply about helping the members of their community. They will personally work on your case, take depositions, secure records, and consult medical professionals to determine exactly what happened.