A nursing home bed sores lawsuit filed after the death of a patient is officially allowed to go forward, and also keep the claim for punitive damages, according to a Pennsylvania judge’s ruling.

The ruling came after the defendant, the nursing home Golden Living Center-Stroud, submitted a motion to dismiss the nursing home bed sores lawsuit entirely. The judge recommended that this motion be denied, and so it is set to go forward.

The nursing home bed sores lawsuit was filed over a patient who died from complications allegedly caused by serious bed sores at the Golden Living Center-Stroud nursing home.

According to the lawsuit, the patient was admitted to the nursing home in November 2015 after she broke her hip. She was considered a high-risk candidate for bedsores, but when she developed bedsores on her lower back and heel in the following months, she did not receive proper treatment, the lawsuit claims. Her health rapidly worsened, leading to a hospital stay in January 2016 and her death just one month later.

According to the nursing home bed sores lawsuit, the patient’s records were altered after her death to make it seem like she had received better care than she actually had. Plaintiffs say an autopsy concluded that her death was contributed to by bedsores. The judge noted that this possible falsification of records and the nature of her injuries was a reason to keep the claim for punitive damages.

“The falsification of medical records, in turn, is suggestive of a consciousness of guilt, and would provide evidentiary support for the mental state needed to sustain a punitive damages claim,” the judge wrote in his ruling.

Filing a Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit

This is not the first lawsuit to be filed over nursing home abuse and neglect. In fact, it is becoming increasingly clear that nursing home abuse is becoming an increasingly prominent problem all across the United States. A growing number of families of elders are choosing to file lawsuits after they discover that their loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect.

Potentially millions of Americans over the age of 60 are neglected or otherwise abused. Given that a huge amount of elder abuse cases never get reported to the authorities, the exact numbers aren’t known.

One of the most prominent signs of nursing home neglect is declining health or physical suffering. This is because elder neglect can often lead to physical injuries or medical issues when they are not properly and consistently cared for. Injuries caused by nursing home abuse can often include bed sores, pressure sores, fractures from falling, malnutrition, dehydration, and frequent urinary tract infections (UTIs).

If you believe someone you love has been harmed by nursing home negligence or abuse, you may be able to file a nursing home abuse lawsuit. Consulting a lawyer with experience in this area can help. It can be difficult to figure out what to do in response to nursing home abuse and neglect, but a lawyer can help you navigate these issues.