Illinois Nursing Home Wrongful Death Lawsuit Alleges Sepsis from Bedsores

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against an Illinois nursing home, alleging that staff at the facility failed to properly treat multiple bedsores that resulted in sepsis.

The nursing home lawsuit was filed in St. Clair County Circuit Court of Illinois on November 30, according to a report in The Madison Record. The complaint was brought by Steven Streiner as a result of the death of Theresa Streiner on January 7, 2009, at Caseyville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Theresa Steiner was admitted to the facility on December 12, 2008 with three stage II bedsores on her buttocks and one on each heel after a weeklong stay at Anderson Hospital for abdominal bleeding, according to the lawsuit. Steven Steiner alleges that the Caseyville nursing home failed to screen Theresa Steiner, failed to develop a plan of treatment for her bedsores, and did not advise her physician of the wounds. The lawsuit also claims that the facility did not have a wound care nurse on staff that was properly trained to deal with the bedsores.

Bedsores, also known as pressure sores or decubitus ulcers, occur as a result of a lack of blood flow to an area of the skin caused by prolonged pressure on one area of the body. They most often develop in places with prominent bones beneath thin layers of skin, such as the heels, elbows and tailbone. Pressure sores often afflict nursing home residents and hospital patients with limited mobility who have trouble, or are unable, to move independently.

Most medical organizations consider bed sores to be a preventable condition that are easily treated if detected early through proper diligence on the part of medical staff and care providers. Failure to prevent, identify, or properly treat bedsores can result in life-threatening infections that enter the bloodstream, known as sepsis.