San Francisco Bed Sore and Pressure Ulcer Neglect: Your Legal Rights and How Nursing Home Law Group Can Help

Pressure ulcers — also called bed sores or decubitus ulcers — are among the clearest and most alarming signs of nursing home neglect. When a loved one in a San Francisco nursing home or assisted living facility develops a Stage III or Stage IV bedsore, it is almost never an unavoidable medical complication. It is a failure of basic care. Families often feel anger, fear, and heartbreak as they watch a preventable wound threaten their loved one’s health, dignity, and sometimes their life.

If you are searching for answers, you are not alone. For more than twenty years, Nursing Home Law Group has represented families across California in bed sore and pressure ulcer cases. Our attorneys know how to uncover the truth, build the evidence, and hold facilities accountable. This page explains what bed sores really mean, why they are often signs of neglect, and how a San Francisco bedsore lawyer can help your family find justice.

Bed sores are wounds caused by prolonged pressure on the skin, usually over bony areas like the heels, hips, and tailbone. They start as reddened skin but can rapidly progress into deep, infected craters when staff fail to monitor and reposition residents.

The four stages are:

Stage I: Redness, warmth, or irritation

Stage II: Blisters or shallow open wounds

Stage III: Deep wounds reaching muscle or fat

Stage IV: Exposed bone, tendon, or muscle; risk of sepsis and death

Stage III and Stage IV pressure ulcers are never acceptable in a properly operated nursing home. They develop because someone was not turned, was left in soiled linens, was not hydrated or nourished, or was not assessed by a nurse when early warning signs appeared.

A qualified San Francisco bedsore attorney can help determine whether the facility failed in its responsibility to prevent this entirely avoidable harm.

Yes. California law allows families to sue for harm caused by neglect when:

1. The facility failed to provide reasonable care, and
2. That failure caused injury, decline, infection, hospitalization, or death.

Bedsore cases often fall under the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (EADACPA), which allows:

• Pain and suffering damages (even after death)
• Attorney’s fees
• Enhanced damages for reckless conduct
• Potential punitive damages

A skilled San Francisco bedsore attorney will determine which laws apply and what compensation your family may be entitled to.

Pressure ulcer cases can result in significant compensation for:

• Medical and hospital bills
• Infection treatment or surgery
• Pain and suffering
• Wrongful death
• Loss of companionship
• Funeral and burial costs
• Punitive damages in extreme cases

Nursing Home Law Group conducts all investigations at no charge, and we operate on a contingency fee, meaning you pay nothing unless we win.

If you suspect neglect, take immediate action. Bed sores can worsen rapidly, and evidence can be lost if too much time passes.

1. Photograph the wound

2. Seek independent medical care

3. Request medical records

4. Contact a San Francisco bedsore lawyer

A dedicated San Francisco bedsore attorney will handle communication with the facility, protect your loved one’s rights, and begin the process of holding the nursing home accountable.

Nursing Home Law Group has handled countless bed sore cases — including severe Stage III and Stage IV wounds — and understands exactly how these injuries develop and how facilities try to cover them up.

Families trust us because:

• We focus exclusively on nursing home and assisted living neglect
• We know how to expose falsified charting
• We understand wound care standards and pressure ulcer prevention
• We build strong cases with medical experts
• We provide compassionate, personal support

Your family deserves answers — and your loved one deserves dignity and justice.

If your loved one developed a large bedsore or pressure ulcer in a San Francisco nursing home or assisted living facility, do not wait. Stage III and IV wounds are preventable, devastating, and often life-threatening.

Contact Nursing Home Law Group today for a free, confidential consultation with an experienced San Francisco bedsore lawyer. We will investigate what happened, protect your loved one’s rights, and fight for full accountability.