The widow of an 88-year-old Colorado man who died as a result of bedsores he suffered in a nursing home located in Colorado, has been awarded $3.2 million by a jury. The jury found Pioneer Health Care Center to be guilty of negligence in the death of Henry Frazier. The resident stopped eating, drinking and walking and became bed-bound when he was placed in the nursing home in 2009. Mr. Frazier died in 2010. He had advanced Parkinson’s disease.

Mr. Frazier developed a pressure sore on his bottom. The family who visited Mr. Frazier on a regular basis said they were not informed of how serious the pressure sore was. The pressure sore became infected and a nurse aide at the nursing home finally informed Mr. Frazier’s son that he needed to look at the seriousness of the sore. The family asked that he be sent to the hospital. Upon arrival, he was diagnosed as being septic, dehydrated and malnourished. The pressure sore was also infected with MRSA and was considered a Stage IV wound. It’s common knowledge in the medical community that Stage IV events aren’t supposed to happen. Pioneer Health Care Center is owned and operated by Grace Health Care. An appeal is expected by the nursing home.

Nursing homes are required to move bedridden clients every two hours so they won’t develop skin problems or sores. Colorado Health Department officials inspected the nursing home and cited the facility for 27 deficiencies after discovering many problems including wide scale infections. Jerome M. Reinan, a lawyer from Denver, who also specializes in Nursing Home litigation, represented the family. He did a very good job in this case.

Source: Denver Post