Swartz Culleton obtained a $150,000 settlement for a Bucks County woman whose husband developed a Stage IV sacral bedsore during medical treatment for a fracture caused by a fall at home. The bedsore required surgery to remove dead tissue and took three months to heal. The husband died of unrelated causes after suit was filed.
Bed sores, also called pressure sores or decubitus ulcers, are caused by poor hydration and nutrition and the lack of pressure relief measures such as frequent turning and use of special beds and cushions. Unrelieved pressure can cause skin breakdown and necrotic tissue. Common sites for bedsores are the buttocks, sacrum and heels. The severity of a bedsore is classified by Stages from I to IV, with IV being the worst. Bedsores are painful, debilitating and disfiguring. In general, bedsores should not happen.