Bedsore

[legalese]

Until you've sold everything you own in order to pay for an attorney, then it's about the money to you, too. You just don't want to spend YOUR money to pursue this; you want someone to represent you for free (or very-reduced fees) so it comes out of THEIR pockets.

We offered him much more than his third plus damages and offered to pay his investigator ourselves. We are trying to meet him half way. This is going nowhere, I just wanted advice that's all.

legalese

 

[cbg]

Our advice is to recognize that when a case is going to cost more to litigate than you are likely to get in return, no one is going to take it on principle.

 

[justalayman]

We offered him much more than his third plus damages and offered to pay his investigator ourselves. We are trying to meet him half way. This is going nowhere, I just wanted advice that's all.

legalese

his third of what? You have to have a whole before you can start dividing it and so far you have a hole, not a whole...an empty hole. 1/3 of nothing is still nothing.

 

[quincy]

When you can find no attorney to take on a medical malpractice/medical negligence case, it is almost a guarantee that there is no case worth the cost of pursuing. This is not because attorneys are seeking only a handsome payday but, rather, it is more often because they do not have money enough to afford to take on cases for free. Most attorneys are not wealthy, despite their portrayal on TV (which generally will depict large law firm attorneys living large lives) and the ones focused on in the news (which tend to be high-profile cases with high-profile trial attorneys).

That said, nursing home cases, when it can be shown that the minimum standard of care was not met and patients have suffered injury as a result of the poor care received, can be attractive cases for medical malpractice attorneys. Awards of damages against nursing homes and hospitals have been hefty (in the $500,000 to million dollar plus range). These cases include many "bed sore" cases, bed sores of which can indicate negligent care.

Investigations into nursing home abuses and neglect of patients are conducted on a regular basis in every state, and state and federal studies continue to show year after year that many homes fail to provide adequate care. There are many reasons for this, and lack of money for qualified staff is one reason. Lawsuits filed against these entities and their staff members, by patients and their families who have been harmed, are not uncommon.

Here is a link to an older thread on this forum (from 2012) that, although the legal concerns are different, touches on a few of the same issues (bed sores) that you ask about here. I am not sure if you will find it helpful or not.

https://forum.freeadvice.com/medical-health-care-malpractice-72/who-liable-nursing-home-nurse-583710.html

I am sorry to hear about the death of your mother, legalese.

 

[legalese]

his third of what? You have to have a whole before you can start dividing it and so far you have a hole, not a whole...an empty hole. 1/3 of nothing is still nothing.

I understand but in another reply you said if you don't have enough money you won't go to a doctor. Example, if a kid needs medical help and his parents can't afford to take him he should go without help? EVERYONE should have to the right to get help in the U.S. IMO. If I can't get a lawyer to help then my mom will never get justice and patients at that nursing home will get more bedsores. There is something wrong about that, that is all I am saying. Our goal was not to make any money but to get them to be aggressive on the bedsore guidlines and to fire the head of nurses. That would be good enough.


P.S. Qunicy thanks your reply

 

[quincy]

I understand but in another reply you said if you don't have enough money you won't go to a doctor. Example, if a kid needs medical help and his parents can't afford to take him he should go without help? EVERYONE should have to the right to get help in the U.S. IMO. If I can't get a lawyer to help then my mom will never get justice and patients at that nursing home will get more bedsores. There is something wrong about that, that is all I am saying. Our goal was not to make any money but to get them to be aggressive on the bedsore guidlines and to fire the head of nurses. That would be good enough.


P.S. Qunicy thanks your reply

legalese, here is another thread (posted by me not too long ago) about the "civil right to counsel." There are many who share your opinion that legal assistance should be made available in civil actions to those who otherwise must forgo legitimate legal actions due to the expense.

https://forum.freeadvice.com/civil-rights-discrimination-law-101/civil-right-counsel-623174.html

I agree this is a problem that is worth addressing - but how to address it, without placing the burden on attorneys to foot the costs, is a problem in itself. There so far has been no good solution.

 

[justalayman]

Then your action is not to sue them because law suits are about the money. You need to chase the state department in charge of nursing homes. You need to chase the state nursing board about the nurses actions. You need to look for any administrative department in the state that has any control over the situstion and best in their doors.

Then you need to contact your state legislators, your local governors, health department.

Then you need to contact the media sources for the area.


If you sue them, should they lose, their insurance company gives you a check. Often times nothing happens to correct the underlying issue. If you want action, forget about the money and contact everybody I listed and anybody else you can think of that may have some effect on the operation.

 

[legalese]

I went to the DPH and the ombudsman in my state. I am thinking about going to local media next. The reason for a lawyer IMO that's the only way to truly change something, when a nursing facility gets hit and hard believe me changes happen after that. The DPH won't even open up an investigation and we know for a fact from her med records my mom got her bedsore there. The DPH is there for show nothing more. That was the main reason we looked into a lawyer because DPH won't help.

Quincy, I will read that as well. Thank you

legalese.

 

[Zigner]

I'm sorry for your loss, but I have to ask: On what basis do you believe that the bedsore was the cause of her death?

ETA: In other words, what was officially recorded as the cause of death?

 

[quincy]

I went to the DPH and the ombudsman in my state. I am thinking about going to local media next. The reason for a lawyer IMO that's the only way to truly change something, when a nursing facility gets hit and hard believe me changes happen after that. The DPH won't even open up an investigation and we know for a fact from her med records my mom got her bedsore there. The DPH is there for show nothing more. That was the main reason we looked into a lawyer because DPH won't help.

Quincy, I will read that as well. Thank you

legalese.

Your belief that lawsuits are the way to make changes is unfortunately not always true. In fact, many of the nursing homes that are sued are sued more than once. Eventually the most problematic of the homes may be closed by the state, but this is not always the case. Some continue to operate (under the same or under a different name), creating fodder for additional lawsuits.

Money is almost always the problem. There is not enough money for nursing homes to properly staff their facilities, not enough money for patients and their families to hold the nursing homes accountable for harm caused by inadequate care, not enough money for states to monitor nursing homes adequately.

 

[justalayman]

I went to the DPH and the ombudsman in my state. I am thinking about going to local media next. The reason for a lawyer IMO that's the only way to truly change something, when a nursing facility gets hit and hard believe me changes happen after that. The DPH won't even open up an investigation and we know for a fact from her med records my mom got her bedsore there. The DPH is there for show nothing more. That was the main reason we looked into a lawyer because DPH won't help.

Quincy, I will read that as well. Thank you

legalese.

You really are not understanding this. The money, which will be paid by an insurance company, is a calculated cost of doing business. Will it make somebody sit up and listen? Maybe, maybe not.

law suits are about money. They might incite some change but that change is more about not losing another round in court more than making a change because it reduces the number of injuries or such.

 

[legalese]

I'm sorry for your loss, but I have to ask: On what basis do you believe that the bedsore was the cause of her death?

ETA: In other words, what was officially recorded as the cause of death?

Good question. Her bedsore was not listed as cause of death, that was the first thing the lawyer asked. She developed a stage 4 bedsore ( got to the bone) she had Osteomyelitis is an infection in a bone, which can be deadly. I had her hospitalized twice at 2 different hospitals specifically for her bedsore and another doctor from a third hospital consulting on her wound. We did a lot for her. We had her moved to another nursing facility that treated her bedsore aggressively and made her stay in bed 24 /7 which contributed to her death. I thought foolishly that there would be enough damages that lawyers would come running.
P.S. The lawyer wanted something in writing from the DPH investigation, which they won't do. (He was surprised when I told him that).

Justalayman, Of course insurance company will pay, but if it is a big hit insurance costs go up, word gets out and people might avoid that nursing home. They are a business too, got to keep those rooms filled. Either way you look at it you CAN'T just shrug your shoulders and ignore it, have to try to do something. They should not get away with it.

legalese

 

[Zigner]

What was the cause of death?

 

[cbg]

Which is more important to you? That you take an action that might accomplish something, or that you file a lawsuit?

If there were an action you could take that did not involve suing, but that might accomplish some change, would you do it? Or is it more important that you sue?

Your answer determines what I next advise you to do.

 

[legalese]

What was the cause of death?

respiratory failure. We were told when someone stays in bed all the time the body breaks down. She had to stay in bed to heal bedsore.

legalese