Bedsores Have Four distinct Stages

Written by Adam Peck Category: Elder Abuse February 27th, 2013 3 min read

Bedsores have four distinct stages and are preventable injuries to skin tissue.

These pressure sore injuries open the body up to further infection and disease, often resulting in death or amputation. Pressure sores are broken down into four stages:

Stage 1 decubitus ulcers are still intact – they are not open wounds. While the skin remains intact, there may be painful bruising underneath. The stage 1 decubitus ulcer is red when you apply pressure with your finger and then remove it (called blanching). Nursing home residents with darker skin tone may not turn red, but the sore will be a noticeably different color than the surrounding skin. Stage 1 bedsores can feel softer or firmer than the surrounding wound tissue in the resident’s skin.
Stage 2 pressure wounds are open painful sores caused by unrelieved pressure. These preventable decubitus ulcers are a result of patient being unable to move and staff failing to flip the patient. A stage 2 bedsore can look like a scrape (abrasion), blister, or a shallow crater in the skin. Sometimes this stage looks like a blister filled with clear fluid. At this stage, some skin may be damaged beyond repair or may die, leaving a permanent wound.
A stage 3 pressure sore burrows deeper into the nursing home resident’s skin tissue than a stage 2. The bedsore or pressure wound is open but the muscle, tendon and bone are not visible at this stage of the sore. A patient’s fatty tissue surrounding the pressure sore may be exposed at stage 3.
A stage 4 decubitus ulcer is the deepest most traumatic stage. There is deep damage to skin tissue in the effected area and often damage to the surrounding joints and tendons. These open festering wounds are an open invitation to disease and infection and can often cause death. Osteomyelitis, infection of the bone, or Sepsis, blood infection, are often complications of an open Stage 4 decubitus ulcer. These infections can cause amputation or death.

Bed Sores can become infected and cause death. It is fundamental that when an elder and dependent adult enters into a long term facility, such as a skilled nursing, assisted living home, or a hospital, that the nurses are always aware of the possibility of skin breakdown. It is inexcusable for a resident to receive bed sores when quite simply the professional staff was watching.

Most times, these facilities are dealing with frail elderly individuals who are not in the best of health that need to be watched and are totally dependent on the care of the professional staff.

Many times the elderly are kept in one position and not turned every two hours which is the minimum requirement. Also, there are instances where elders are not properly cleaned, left in their own feces, which gets into the wounds causing infections such as sepsis and a leading cause of death.

Share it

Questions? Check with Peck Today

Blog Lead Form

Elder Abuse and Neglect in Assisted Living Facilities

Elopement in Nursing Homes

Assisted Living Abuse

Settlement Reached in Assisted Living Facility Death

Assisted Living Abuse and Neglect Attorneys

Written by Adam Peck

Expertise: Personal Injury

Adam J. Peck, ESQ is a principal with Peck Law Group, APC. In 2008, Mr. Adam Peck received his Juris Doctorate from Whittier Law School where he graduated Cum Laude. His practice is primarily dedicated to representing Elders, Dependent Adults, along with their loved ones and family members, who have suffered horrific personal injuries.