A woman is accusing the Los Angeles County Medical Center of neglecting her mother, a 64-year-old woman who stayed at the facility for several days last year. In her Los Angeles elder neglect lawsuit, Irene Garcia contends that LAC Medical Center was reckless in letting her mom, Esperanza, lie in her own waste for extend periods of time and that this caused her to develop pressure sores. Garcia says that workers at the facility purposely mischaracterized her mom's decubitus ulcer as a skin rash.
She also says that her "gravely ill" mom did not have pressure sores until after she was admitted to the medical center. Garcia claims that staff knew Esperanza was at risk for skin breakdown yet failed to take preventative action. She contends that once her mom developed the bedsores, no one treated her symptoms or reported them. Instead they allegedly let the wounds grow worse. Not only did they leave Esperanza in her own excrement but they also failed to clean and turn her correctly.
Esperanza's family says that by the time they took her from LAC Medical Center, her condition was so poor that the bedsores were untreatable. She died a day after leaving the medical center.
The plaintiffs are also accusing the county and 100 unidentified agents and employees of elder abuse. Esperanza's loved ones claim that the defendants violated the state's Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act.
Bedsores can cause serious health complications, which is why it is so important that action is taken to prevent them from developing on a patient's body or if they do show up that they are treated immediately. Elderly patients--especially those who cannot move without assistance--are at higher risk than others of developing bedsores. Common causes of bedsores:
• Staying in the same position for extended time periods
• Malnutrition
• Dehydration
• Allowing moisture, human excrement, urine, or sweat too stay close to the skin for an extended time period
• Not checking a patient regularly for signs of decubitus ulcers
• Delayed treatment
Medical professionals can be held liable for Los Angeles nursing negligence if failure to provide the patient with the proper care causes personal injury or wrongful death.
Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act
Los Angeles Elder Abuse and Neglect Alleged in 89-Year-Old's Alzheimer Patient's Fatal Fall At Woodland Hills Retirement Community, California Injury Lawyers Blog, March 16, 2011
Costa Mesa Nursing Home Fine Over Alleged Orange County, California Nursing Home Negligence Related to 93-Year-Old Man's Death, California Injury Lawyers Blog, February 28, 2011
San Bernardino County Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit Blames Assisted Living Facility for Patient's California Wrongful Death by Suicide, California Injury Lawyers Blog, September 10, 2010
