$275,000 Settlement for Worsening of Pre-Existing Pressure Ulcers

Felicia Curran represented an elderly woman who was admitted to the hospital after she had a stroke. At the hospital, she acquired a “Stage 2” pressure ulcer on her buttocks in the intensive care ward. The hospital discharged her for follow-up care to an Oakland nursing home. Due to the nursing home’s neglect and staffing shortages, they did not take necessary and basic precautions to treat the pressure ulcers and prevent them from getting worse, including failing to turn the patient in bed. As a result, the pressure ulcers got progressively worse, to “Stage 3.” The nursing home paid $275,000 to settle the lawsuit after the Director of Nursing admitted in deposition that the facility was understaffed.